Vulnerability Database

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CVE-2025-40090 — linux / linux_kernel

Uncontrolled Recursion

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

ksmbd: fix recursive locking in RPC handle list access

Since commit 305853cce3794 ("ksmbd: Fix race condition in RPC handle list access"), ksmbd_session_rpc_method() attempts to lock sess->rpc_lock.

This causes hung connections / tasks when a client attempts to open a named pipe. Using Samba's rpcclient tool:

$ rpcclient //192.168.1.254 -U user%password $ rpcclient $> srvinfo <connection hung here>

Kernel side: "echo 0 > /proc/sys/kernel/hung_task_timeout_secs" disables this message. task:kworker/0:0 state:D stack:0 pid:5021 tgid:5021 ppid:2 flags:0x00200000 Workqueue: ksmbd-io handle_ksmbd_work Call trace: __schedule from schedule+0x3c/0x58 schedule from schedule_preempt_disabled+0xc/0x10 schedule_preempt_disabled from rwsem_down_read_slowpath+0x1b0/0x1d8 rwsem_down_read_slowpath from down_read+0x28/0x30 down_read from ksmbd_session_rpc_method+0x18/0x3c ksmbd_session_rpc_method from ksmbd_rpc_open+0x34/0x68 ksmbd_rpc_open from ksmbd_session_rpc_open+0x194/0x228 ksmbd_session_rpc_open from create_smb2_pipe+0x8c/0x2c8 create_smb2_pipe from smb2_open+0x10c/0x27ac smb2_open from handle_ksmbd_work+0x238/0x3dc handle_ksmbd_work from process_scheduled_works+0x160/0x25c process_scheduled_works from worker_thread+0x16c/0x1e8 worker_thread from kthread+0xa8/0xb8 kthread from ret_from_fork+0x14/0x38 Exception stack(0x8529ffb0 to 0x8529fff8)

The task deadlocks because the lock is already held: ksmbd_session_rpc_open down_write(&sess->rpc_lock) ksmbd_rpc_open ksmbd_session_rpc_method down_read(&sess->rpc_lock) <-- deadlock

Adjust ksmbd_session_rpc_method() callers to take the lock when necessary.

  • Published: Oct 30, 2025
  • Updated: Feb 27, 2026
  • CVE: CVE-2025-40090
  • Severity: Medium
  • Exploit:
  • CISA KEV:

CVSS v3:

  • Severity: High
  • Score: 7.5
  • AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CWEs:

Frequently Asked Questions

A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.

CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.

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Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.

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