| Release Date: | 2025-10-01 | |
| Impact: | Moderate | What is this? |
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: phylink: add lock for serializing concurrent pl->phydev writes with resolver Currently phylink_resolve() protects itself against concurrent phylink_bringup_phy() or phylink_disconnect_phy() calls which modify pl->phydev by relying on pl->state_mutex. The problem is that in phylink_resolve(), pl->state_mutex is in a lock inversion state with pl->phydev->lock. So pl->phydev->lock needs to be acquired prior to pl->state_mutex. But that requires dereferencing pl->phydev in the first place, and without pl->state_mutex, that is racy. Hence the reason for the extra lock. Currently it is redundant, but it will serve a functional purpose once mutex_lock(&phy->lock) will be moved outside of the mutex_lock(&pl->state_mutex) section. Another alternative considered would have been to let phylink_resolve() acquire the rtnl_mutex, which is also held when phylink_bringup_phy() and phylink_disconnect_phy() are called. But since phylink_disconnect_phy() runs under rtnl_lock(), it would deadlock with phylink_resolve() when calling flush_work(&pl->resolve). Additionally, it would have been undesirable because it would have unnecessarily blocked many other call paths as well in the entire kernel, so the smaller-scoped lock was preferred.
See more information about CVE-2025-39905 from MITRE CVE dictionary and NIST NVD
NOTE: The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
| Base Score: | 7.1 |
| Vector String: | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:H |
| Version: | 3.1 |
| Attack Vector: | Network |
| Attack Complexity: | High |
| Privileges Required: | Low |
| User Interaction: | None |
| Scope: | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality Impact: | Low |
| Integrity Impact: | High |
| Availability Impact: | High |
| Platform | Errata | Release Date |
| Oracle Linux version 10 (kernel) | ELSA-2026-0453 | 2026-01-12 |
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