Linux kernel: Privilege escalation or Denial of Service via TCP Fast Open vulnerability
CVE: CVE-2025-40186
Component: kernel
CWE: CWE-826
Severity: Important
CVSS v3: 7.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Release date: 2025-11-12T00:00:00+00:00

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel. A local attacker with low privileges could exploit a memory corruption vulnerability, specifically a use-after-free and double-free, within the TCP Fast Open (TFO) socket processing. This occurs when a listener is closed while a TFO socket is being processed in `tcp_conn_request()`. Successful exploitation could lead to a kernel panic, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS), or potentially allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges.

Statement: This vulnerability is rated Important for Red Hat Enterprise Linux. A local attacker with low privileges can exploit a use-after-free and double-free flaw in the Linux kernel's TCP Fast Open (TFO) implementation. This could lead to a kernel panic, resulting in a Denial of Service, or potentially allow for privilege escalation. This affects Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, 8, 9 (up to 9.7.z), and 10 (up to 10.1.z).

Remediation:
For details on how to apply this update, which includes the changes described in this advisory, refer to:

https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258

The system must be rebooted for this update to take effect.
For details on how to apply this update, which includes the changes described in this advisory, refer to:

https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258

The system must be rebooted for this update to take effect.
For details on how to apply this update, which includes the changes described in this advisory, refer to:

https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258

The system must be rebooted for this update to take effect.
For details on how to apply this update, which includes the changes described in this advisory, refer to:

https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258

The system must be rebooted for this update to take effect.
For details on how to apply this update, which includes the changes described in this advisory, refer to:

https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258

The system must be rebooted for this update to take effect.
For details on how to apply this update, which includes the changes described in this advisory, refer to:

https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258

The system must be rebooted for this update to take effect.
For details on how to apply this update, which includes the changes described in this advisory, refer to:

https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258

The system must be rebooted for this update to take effect.
For details on how to apply this update, which includes the changes described in this advisory, refer to:

https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258

The system must be rebooted for this update to take effect.
For details on how to apply this update, which includes the changes described in this advisory, refer to:

https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258

The system must be rebooted for this update to take effect.
For details on how to apply this update, which includes the changes described in this advisory, refer to:

https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258

The system must be rebooted for this update to take effect.
For details on how to apply this update, which includes the changes described in this advisory, refer to:

https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258

The system must be rebooted for this update to take effect.
For details on how to apply this update, which includes the changes described in this advisory, refer to:

https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258

The system must be rebooted for this update to take effect.