CVE-2025-38017

5.5 MEDIUM
Published: June 18, 2025 Modified: November 14, 2025

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs/eventpoll: fix endless busy loop after timeout has expired After commit 0a65bc27bd64 ("eventpoll: Set epoll timeout if it's in the future"), the following program would immediately enter a busy loop in the kernel: ``` int main() { int e = epoll_create1(0); struct epoll_event event = {.events = EPOLLIN}; epoll_ctl(e, EPOLL_CTL_ADD, 0, &event); const struct timespec timeout = {.tv_nsec = 1}; epoll_pwait2(e, &event, 1, &timeout, 0); } ``` This happens because the given (non-zero) timeout of 1 nanosecond usually expires before ep_poll() is entered and then ep_schedule_timeout() returns false, but `timed_out` is never set because the code line that sets it is skipped. This quickly turns into a soft lockup, RCU stalls and deadlocks, inflicting severe headaches to the whole system. When the timeout has expired, we don't need to schedule a hrtimer, but we should set the `timed_out` variable. Therefore, I suggest moving the ep_schedule_timeout() check into the `timed_out` expression instead of skipping it. brauner: Note that there was an earlier fix by Joe Damato in response to my bug report in [1].

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CVSS v3.x Details

0.0 Low Medium High Critical 10.0
Vector String
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

Patch Vendor Advisory Exploit Third Party Advisory
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7631dca012593c95d36199082546a24a0058fc50
Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d9ec73301099ec5975505e1c3effbe768bab9490
Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Patch

2 reference(s) from NVD

Quick Stats

CVSS v3 Score
5.5 / 10.0
EPSS (Exploit Probability)
0.0%
4th percentile
Exploitation Status
Not in CISA KEV

Affected Vendors

linux