CVE-2025-40159: xsk: Harden userspace-supplied xdp_desc validation

Published Nov 12, 2025
·
Updated

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

xsk: Harden userspace-supplied xdpdesc validation

Turned out certain clearly invalid values passed in xdpdesc from userspace can pass xp{,un}alignedvalidatedesc() and then lead to UBs or just invalid frames to be queued for xmit.

desc->len close to U32MAX with a non-zero pool->txmetadatalen can cause positive integer overflow and wraparound, the same way low enough desc->addr with a non-zero pool->txmetadatalen can cause negative integer overflow. Both scenarios can then pass the validation successfully. This doesn't happen with valid XSk applications, but can be used to perform attacks.

Always promote desc->len to u64 first to exclude positive overflows of it. Use explicit check{add,sub}overflow() when validating desc->addr (which is u64 already).

bloat-o-meter reports a little growth of the code size:

add/remove: 0/0 grow/shrink: 2/1 up/down: 60/-16 (44) Function old new delta xskqconspeekdesc 299 330 +31 xsktxpeekreleasedescbatch 973 1002 +29 xskgenericxmit 3148 3132 -16

but hopefully this doesn't hurt the performance much.

Affected Software

148 affected componentsFixes available
Linux Linux kernel
ubuntu/linux-hwe-edge*
ubuntu/linux-aws-5.0*
ubuntu/linux-aws-5.3*
ubuntu/linux-azure*
ubuntu/linux-azure-5.3*
ubuntu/linux-azure-edge*
ubuntu/linux-gcp*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.3*
ubuntu/linux-gke-4.15*
ubuntu/linux-gke-5.4*
ubuntu/linux-gkeop-5.4*
ubuntu/linux-hwe*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-edge*
ubuntu/linux-oem*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.0*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.3*
ubuntu/linux-aws-5.11*
ubuntu/linux-aws-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-aws-5.8*
ubuntu/linux-azure-5.11*
ubuntu/linux-azure-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-azure-5.8*
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.11*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.8*
ubuntu/linux-gke*
ubuntu/linux-gke-5.15*
ubuntu/linux-gkeop*
ubuntu/linux-gkeop-5.15*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-5.11*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-5.8*
ubuntu/linux-intel-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-oem-5.10*
ubuntu/linux-oem-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-oem-5.6*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.11*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.8*
ubuntu/linux-raspi2*
ubuntu/linux-riscv*
ubuntu/linux-riscv-5.11*
ubuntu/linux-riscv-5.8*
ubuntu/linux-allwinner-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-aws-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-aws-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-aws-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-aws-6.8<6.8.0-1050.53~22.04.1
6.8.0-1050.53~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-azure-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-azure-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-azure-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-azure-6.8<6.8.0-1051.57~22.04.1
6.8.0-1051.57~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-6.8<6.8.0-1058.65~22.04.1
6.8.0-1058.65~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.8<6.8.0-1052.55~22.04.1
6.8.0-1052.55~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-hwe-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.8<6.8.0-106.106~22.04.1
6.8.0-106.106~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-ibm-6.8<6.8.0-1049.49~22.04.1
6.8.0-1049.49~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-intel-iot-realtime*
ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8<6.8.0-106.106.1~22.04.1
6.8.0-106.106.1~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.8<6.8.0-1049.52~22.04.1
6.8.0-1049.52~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-oem-5.17*
ubuntu/linux-oem-6.0*
ubuntu/linux-oem-6.1*
ubuntu/linux-oem-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.8<6.8.0-1047.48~22.04.1
6.8.0-1047.48~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-realtime*
ubuntu/linux-riscv*
ubuntu/linux-riscv-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-riscv-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-riscv-6.8<6.8.0-106.106~22.04.1
6.8.0-106.106~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-starfive-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-starfive-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-starfive-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-realtime-6.8<6.8.1-1045.46~22.04.1
6.8.1-1045.46~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux<6.8.0-106.106
6.8.0-106.106
ubuntu/linux-aws<6.8.0-1050.53
6.8.0-1050.53
ubuntu/linux-aws-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-aws-6.17<6.17.0-1007.7~24.04.1
6.17.0-1007.7~24.04.1
ubuntu/linux-azure<6.8.0-1051.57
6.8.0-1051.57
ubuntu/linux-azure-6.11*
ubuntu/linux-azure-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde<6.8.0-1058.65
6.8.0-1058.65
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-azure-nvidia<6.8.0-1039.42
6.8.0-1039.42
ubuntu/linux-azure-nvidia-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-gcp<6.8.0-1052.55
6.8.0-1052.55
ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.11*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.17<6.17.0-1008.8~24.04.1
6.17.0-1008.8~24.04.1
ubuntu/linux-gke<6.8.0-1048.53
6.8.0-1048.53
ubuntu/linux-gkeop<6.8.0-1035.38
6.8.0-1035.38
ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.11*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-ibm<6.8.0-1049.49
6.8.0-1049.49
ubuntu/linux-lowlatency<6.8.0-106.106.1
6.8.0-106.106.1
ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.11*
ubuntu/linux-nvidia<6.8.0-1049.52
6.8.0-1049.52
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.11*
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.17<6.17.0-1008.8
6.17.0-1008.8
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-lowlatency<6.8.0-1049.52.1
6.8.0-1049.52.1
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-tegra<6.8.0-1020.20
6.8.0-1020.20
ubuntu/linux-oem-6.11*
ubuntu/linux-oem-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-oem-6.17<6.17.0-1011.11
6.17.0-1011.11
ubuntu/linux-oem-6.8*
ubuntu/linux-oracle<6.8.0-1047.48
6.8.0-1047.48
ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.17<6.17.0-1007.7~24.04.1
6.17.0-1007.7~24.04.1
ubuntu/linux-raspi<6.8.0-1050.54
6.8.0-1050.54
ubuntu/linux-raspi-realtime*
ubuntu/linux-realtime*
ubuntu/linux-riscv*
ubuntu/linux-riscv-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-xilinx<6.8.0-1028.29
6.8.0-1028.29
ubuntu/linux-bluefield<6.8.0-1017.21
6.8.0-1017.21
ubuntu/linux-raspi-realtime<6.8.0-2040.41
6.8.0-2040.41
ubuntu/linux-realtime<6.8.1-1045.46
6.8.1-1045.46
ubuntu/linux-realtime-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-realtime-6.17<6.17.0-1006.7~24.04.1
6.17.0-1006.7~24.04.1
ubuntu/linux-aws-fips<6.8.0-1050.53+fips1
6.8.0-1050.53+fips1
ubuntu/linux-azure-fips<6.8.0-1052.58+fips1
6.8.0-1052.58+fips1
ubuntu/linux-fips<6.8.0-106.106+fips1
6.8.0-106.106+fips1
ubuntu/linux-gcp-fips<6.8.0-1052.55+fips1
6.8.0-1052.55+fips1
ubuntu/linux<6.17.0-14.14
6.17.0-14.14
ubuntu/linux-aws<6.17.0-1007.7
6.17.0-1007.7
ubuntu/linux-azure<6.17.0-1008.8
6.17.0-1008.8
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde*
ubuntu/linux-gcp<6.17.0-1007.7
6.17.0-1007.7
ubuntu/linux-oracle<6.17.0-1007.7
6.17.0-1007.7
ubuntu/linux-raspi<6.17.0-1008.8
6.17.0-1008.8
ubuntu/linux-realtime<6.17.0-1006.7
6.17.0-1006.7
ubuntu/linux-riscv<6.17.0-14.14.1
6.17.0-14.14.1
ubuntu/linux-vmware*

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-aws-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1050.53~22.04.1
  2. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1051.57~22.04.1
  3. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1058.65~22.04.1
  4. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1052.55~22.04.1
  5. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-106.106~22.04.1
  6. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-ibm-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1049.49~22.04.1
  7. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-106.106.1~22.04.1
  8. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1049.52~22.04.1
  9. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1047.48~22.04.1
  10. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-riscv-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-106.106~22.04.1
  11. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-realtime-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.1-1045.46~22.04.1
  12. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-106.106
  13. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-aws to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1050.53
  14. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-aws-6.17 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-1007.7~24.04.1
  15. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1051.57
  16. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure-fde to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1058.65
  17. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure-nvidia to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1039.42
  18. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gcp to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1052.55
  19. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.17 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-1008.8~24.04.1
  20. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gke to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1048.53
  21. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gkeop to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1035.38
  22. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-ibm to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1049.49
  23. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-lowlatency to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-106.106.1
  24. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-nvidia to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1049.52
  25. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.17 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-1008.8
  26. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-nvidia-lowlatency to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1049.52.1
  27. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-nvidia-tegra to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1020.20
  28. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-oem-6.17 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-1011.11
  29. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-oracle to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1047.48
  30. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.17 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-1007.7~24.04.1
  31. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-raspi to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1050.54
  32. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-xilinx to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1028.29
  33. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-bluefield to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1017.21
  34. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-raspi-realtime to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-2040.41
  35. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-realtime to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.1-1045.46
  36. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-realtime-6.17 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-1006.7~24.04.1
  37. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-aws-fips to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1050.53+fips1
  38. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure-fips to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1052.58+fips1
  39. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-fips to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-106.106+fips1
  40. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gcp-fips to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1052.55+fips1
  41. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-14.14
  42. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-aws to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-1007.7
  43. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-1008.8
  44. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gcp to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-1007.7
  45. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-oracle to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-1007.7
  46. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-raspi to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-1008.8
  47. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-realtime to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-1006.7
  48. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-riscv to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-14.14.1
  49. Compensating control

    Harden userspace-supplied xdp_desc validation by always promoting desc->len to u64 before validation and using explicit check_{add,sub}_overflow() checks for desc->addr and length calculations, including pool->tx_metadata_len, to prevent positive and negative integer overflow or wraparound.

Event History

Nov 12, 2025
CVE Published
via MITRE·10:24 AM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·10:24 AM
DescriptionSeverity
Data Sourced
via OSV·11:15 AM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Data Sourced
via NVD·11:15 AM
DescriptionSeverity

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2025-40159?

CVE-2025-40159 has been classified as a high severity vulnerability due to the potential for unbounded behavior leading to undefined states.

2

How do I fix CVE-2025-40159?

To mitigate CVE-2025-40159, it is recommended to update to the latest version of the Linux kernel where this vulnerability has been resolved.

3

What type of systems are affected by CVE-2025-40159?

CVE-2025-40159 affects systems running the Linux kernel that utilize user-supplied xdp_desc data.

4

What are the potential impacts of CVE-2025-40159?

The impacts of CVE-2025-40159 include undefined behaviors and the possibility of invalid frames being processed.

5

Who is responsible for addressing CVE-2025-40159?

The maintainers of the Linux kernel are responsible for addressing CVE-2025-40159 in their releases and security updates.

Company

Resources

Contact

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