CVE-2025-40120

CVE Details

Release Date:	2025-11-12
Impact:	Moderate	What is this?

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: usb: asix: hold PM usage ref to avoid PM/MDIO + RTNL deadlock Prevent USB runtime PM (autosuspend) for AX88772* in bind. usbnet enables runtime PM (autosuspend) by default, so disabling it via the usb_driver flag is ineffective. On AX88772B, autosuspend shows no measurable power saving with current driver (no link partner, admin up/down). The ~0.453 W -> ~0.248 W drop on v6.1 comes from phylib powering the PHY off on admin-down, not from USB autosuspend. The real hazard is that with runtime PM enabled, ndo_open() (under RTNL) may synchronously trigger autoresume (usb_autopm_get_interface()) into asix_resume() while the USB PM lock is held. Resume paths then invoke phylink/phylib and MDIO, which also expect RTNL, leading to possible deadlocks or PM lock vs MDIO wake issues. To avoid this, keep the device runtime-PM active by taking a usage reference in ax88772_bind() and dropping it in unbind(). A non-zero PM usage count blocks runtime suspend regardless of userspace policy (.../power/control - pm_runtime_allow/forbid), making this approach robust against sysfs overrides. Holding a runtime-PM usage ref does not affect system-wide suspend; system sleep/resume callbacks continue to run as before.

See more information about CVE-2025-40120 from MITRE CVE dictionary and NIST NVD

NOTE: The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.

CVSS v3 metrics

Base Score:	4.7
Vector String:	CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Version:	3.1
Attack Vector:	Local
Attack Complexity:	High
Privileges Required:	Low
User Interaction:	None
Scope:	Unchanged
Confidentiality Impact:	None
Integrity Impact:	None
Availability Impact:	High

Errata information

Platform	Errata	Release Date
Oracle Linux version 8 (kernel-uek)	ELSA-2025-28048	2025-12-12
Oracle Linux version 9 (kernel-uek)	ELSA-2025-28048	2025-12-12