VulnerabilityPublished 4 Dec 2025Updated 31 Jul 2026

CVE-2025-40260: Linux kernel · sched_ext: Fix scx_enable() crash on helper kthread creation failure

Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database

Not known to be exploited · fixed in 6.17.0-1009.9~24.04.2 : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 10:12 UTC

Severity

Medium

Rated by Threat Radar · No CVSS score from NVD or the CNA

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 6% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 6.17.0-1009.9~24.04.2, 6.17.0-1010.10~24.04.1, 6.17.0-1009.9~24.04.3 +11

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 4 Dec 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Patches and advisories

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Ubuntu 25.10linux`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux?arch=source&distro=questing`Other threats	Affected <6.17.0-19.19	Fixed in 6.17.0-19.19
Ubuntu 25.10linux-aws`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws?arch=source&distro=questing`Other threats	Affected <6.17.0-1009.9	Fixed in 6.17.0-1009.9
Ubuntu 25.10linux-azure`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure?arch=source&distro=questing`Other threats	Affected <6.17.0-1010.10	Fixed in 6.17.0-1010.10
Ubuntu 25.10linux-azure-fde`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-fde?arch=source&distro=questing`Other threats	Affected 6.17.0-1003.3 – 6.17.0-1017.17 10 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 25.10linux-gcp`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gcp?arch=source&distro=questing`Other threats	Affected <6.17.0-1009.9	Fixed in 6.17.0-1009.9
Ubuntu 25.10linux-oracle`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-oracle?arch=source&distro=questing`Other threats	Affected <6.17.0-1009.9	Fixed in 6.17.0-1009.9

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sched_ext: Fix scx_enable() crash on helper kthread creation failure A crash was observed when the sched_ext selftests runner was terminated with Ctrl+\ while test 15 was running: NIP [c00000000028fa58] scx_enable.constprop.0+0x358/0x12b0 LR [c00000000028fa2c] scx_enable.constprop.0+0x32c/0x12b0 Call Trace: scx_enable.constprop.0+0x32c/0x12b0 (unreliable) bpf_struct_ops_link_create+0x18c/0x22c __sys_bpf+0x23f8/0x3044 sys_bpf+0x2c/0x6c system_call_exception+0x124/0x320 system_call_vectored_common+0x15c/0x2ec kthread_run_worker() returns an ERR_PTR() on failure rather than NULL, but the current code in scx_alloc_and_add_sched() only checks for a NULL helper. Incase of failure on SIGQUIT, the error is not handled in scx_alloc_and_add_sched() and scx_enable() ends up dereferencing an error pointer. Error handling is fixed in scx_alloc_and_add_sched() to propagate PTR_ERR() into ret, so that scx_enable() jumps to the existing error path, avoiding random dereference on failure.

References

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