CVE-2025-40257
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
mptcp: fix a race in mptcp_pm_del_add_timer()
mptcp_pm_del_add_timer() can call sk_stop_timer_sync(sk, &entry->add_timer) while another might have free entry already, as reported by syzbot.
Add RCU protection to fix this issue.
Also change confusing add_timer variable with stop_timer boolean.
syzbot report:
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in __timer_delete_sync+0x372/0x3f0 kernel/time/timer.c:1616 Read of size 4 at addr ffff8880311e4150 by task kworker/1:1/44
CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 44 Comm: kworker/1:1 Not tainted syzkaller #0 PREEMPT_{RT,(full)} Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 10/02/2025 Workqueue: events mptcp_worker Call Trace:
dump_stack_lvl+0x189/0x250 lib/dump_stack.c:120 print_address_description mm/kasan/report.c:378 [inline] print_report+0xca/0x240 mm/kasan/report.c:482 kasan_report+0x118/0x150 mm/kasan/report.c:595 __timer_delete_sync+0x372/0x3f0 kernel/time/timer.c:1616 sk_stop_timer_sync+0x1b/0x90 net/core/sock.c:3631 mptcp_pm_del_add_timer+0x283/0x310 net/mptcp/pm.c:362 mptcp_incoming_options+0x1357/0x1f60 net/mptcp/options.c:1174 tcp_data_queue+0xca/0x6450 net/ipv4/tcp_input.c:5361 tcp_rcv_established+0x1335/0x2670 net/ipv4/tcp_input.c:6441 tcp_v4_do_rcv+0x98b/0xbf0 net/ipv4/tcp_ipv4.c:1931 tcp_v4_rcv+0x252a/0x2dc0 net/ipv4/tcp_ipv4.c:2374 ip_protocol_deliver_rcu+0x221/0x440 net/ipv4/ip_input.c:205 ip_local_deliver_finish+0x3bb/0x6f0 net/ipv4/ip_input.c:239 NF_HOOK+0x30c/0x3a0 include/linux/netfilter.h:318 NF_HOOK+0x30c/0x3a0 include/linux/netfilter.h:318 __netif_receive_skb_one_core net/core/dev.c:6079 [inline] __netif_receive_skb+0x143/0x380 net/core/dev.c:6192 process_backlog+0x31e/0x900 net/core/dev.c:6544 __napi_poll+0xb6/0x540 net/core/dev.c:7594 napi_poll net/core/dev.c:7657 [inline] net_rx_action+0x5f7/0xda0 net/core/dev.c:7784 handle_softirqs+0x22f/0x710 kernel/softirq.c:622 __do_softirq kernel/softirq.c:656 [inline] __local_bh_enable_ip+0x1a0/0x2e0 kernel/softirq.c:302 mptcp_pm_send_ack net/mptcp/pm.c:210 [inline] mptcp_pm_addr_send_ack+0x41f/0x500 net/mptcp/pm.c:-1 mptcp_pm_worker+0x174/0x320 net/mptcp/pm.c:1002 mptcp_worker+0xd5/0x1170 net/mptcp/protocol.c:2762 process_one_work kernel/workqueue.c:3263 [inline] process_scheduled_works+0xae1/0x17b0 kernel/workqueue.c:3346 worker_thread+0x8a0/0xda0 kernel/workqueue.c:3427 kthread+0x711/0x8a0 kernel/kthread.c:463 ret_from_fork+0x4bc/0x870 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:158 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:245
Allocated by task 44: kasan_save_stack mm/kasan/common.c:56 [inline] kasan_save_track+0x3e/0x80 mm/kasan/common.c:77 poison_kmalloc_redzone mm/kasan/common.c:400 [inline] __kasan_kmalloc+0x93/0xb0 mm/kasan/common.c:417 kasan_kmalloc include/linux/kasan.h:262 [inline] __kmalloc_cache_noprof+0x1ef/0x6c0 mm/slub.c:5748 kmalloc_noprof include/linux/slab.h:957 [inline] mptcp_pm_alloc_anno_list+0x104/0x460 net/mptcp/pm.c:385 mptcp_pm_create_subflow_or_signal_addr+0xf9d/0x1360 net/mptcp/pm_kernel.c:355 mptcp_pm_nl_fully_established net/mptcp/pm_kernel.c:409 [inline] __mptcp_pm_kernel_worker+0x417/0x1ef0 net/mptcp/pm_kernel.c:1529 mptcp_pm_worker+0x1ee/0x320 net/mptcp/pm.c:1008 mptcp_worker+0xd5/0x1170 net/mptcp/protocol.c:2762 process_one_work kernel/workqueue.c:3263 [inline] process_scheduled_works+0xae1/0x17b0 kernel/workqueue.c:3346 worker_thread+0x8a0/0xda0 kernel/workqueue.c:3427 kthread+0x711/0x8a0 kernel/kthread.c:463 ret_from_fork+0x4bc/0x870 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:158 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:245
Freed by task 6630: kasan_save_stack mm/kasan/common.c:56 [inline] kasan_save_track+0x3e/0x80 mm/kasan/common.c:77 __kasan_save_free_info+0x46/0x50 mm/kasan/generic.c:587 kasan_save_free_info mm/kasan/kasan.h:406 [inline] poison_slab_object m ---truncated---
AI Insight
LLM-synthesized narrative grounded in this CVE's description and references.
A race condition in the Linux kernel's MPTCP subsystem can cause a use-after-free when stopping add timer, leading to potential code execution or crash.
Race
Condition in MPTCP Add Timer
A race condition exists in the Linux kernel's mptcp_pm_del_add_timer() function, as reported by syzbot. The function can call sk_stop_timer_sync() on an add_timer entry after it has already been freed by another concurrent path, leading to a slab-use-after-free. The issue arises because the entry is removed from RCU-protected lists without proper synchronization when stopping the timer [1].
Exploitation and
Impact
The vulnerability can be triggered by sending specially crafted packets that cause the MPTCP worker to process incoming options (mptcp_incoming_options) while the timer deletion logic races with a timer expiration handler that frees the entry. An attacker who can send network traffic to a victim machine could exploit this to cause a kernel crash (denial of service) or potentially achieve arbitrary code execution due to the use-after-free condition [1]. The attack does not require authentication if the system has MPTCP enabled and is reachable over the network.
Mitigation
The fix adds RCU protection to ensure the timer is stopped only while the entry is still valid, and renames the confusing add_timer variable to stop_timer. Patches have been applied to the mainline kernel and backported to stable branches [2][3]. Users should update their kernel to a version containing the fix.
AI Insight generated on May 19, 2026. Synthesized from this CVE's description and the cited reference URLs; citations are validated against the source bundle.
Affected products
3Patches
79be29f8e7ce4e2d1ad207174385ddc0f008fc602cc344b4b6d3275d4ca62bbbd75346c8e426358d9be7cVulnerability mechanics
Generated on May 9, 2026. Inputs: CWE entries + fix-commit diffs from this CVE's patches. Citations validated against bundle.
References
7- git.kernel.org/stable/c/385ddc0f008f24d1e7d03be998b3a98a37bd29ffnvd
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/426358d9be7ce3518966422f87b96f1bad27295fnvd
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/6d3275d4ca62e2c02e1b7e8cd32db59df91c14b7nvd
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/9be29f8e7ce4e147e56caac2c3a0ce3573cf9c17nvd
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/bbbd75346c8e6490b19c2ba90f38ea66ccf352b2nvd
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/c602cc344b4b8d41515fec3ffa98457ac963ee12nvd
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/e2d1ad207174a7cd7903dd27a00db4b2dfa6c64bnvd
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