CVE-2025-40246
xfs: fix out of bounds memory read error in symlink repair
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xfs: fix out of bounds memory read error in symlink repair xfs/286 produced this report on my test fleet: ================================================================== BUG: KFENCE: out-of-bounds read in memcpy_orig+0x54/0x110 Out-of-bounds read at 0xffff88843fe9e038 (184B right of kfence-#184): memcpy_orig+0x54/0x110 xrep_symlink_salvage_inline+0xb3/0xf0 [xfs] xrep_symlink_salvage+0x100/0x110 [xfs] xrep_symlink+0x2e/0x80 [xfs] xrep_attempt+0x61/0x1f0 [xfs] xfs_scrub_metadata+0x34f/0x5c0 [xfs] xfs_ioc_scrubv_metadata+0x387/0x560 [xfs] xfs_file_ioctl+0xe23/0x10e0 [xfs] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x76/0xc0 do_syscall_64+0x4e/0x1e0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 kfence-#184: 0xffff88843fe9df80-0xffff88843fe9dfea, size=107, cache=kmalloc-128 allocated by task 3470 on cpu 1 at 263329.131592s (192823.508886s ago): xfs_init_local_fork+0x79/0xe0 [xfs] xfs_iformat_local+0xa4/0x170 [xfs] xfs_iformat_data_fork+0x148/0x180 [xfs] xfs_inode_from_disk+0x2cd/0x480 [xfs] xfs_iget+0x450/0xd60 [xfs] xfs_bulkstat_one_int+0x6b/0x510 [xfs] xfs_bulkstat_iwalk+0x1e/0x30 [xfs] xfs_iwalk_ag_recs+0xdf/0x150 [xfs] xfs_iwalk_run_callbacks+0xb9/0x190 [xfs] xfs_iwalk_ag+0x1dc/0x2f0 [xfs] xfs_iwalk_args.constprop.0+0x6a/0x120 [xfs] xfs_iwalk+0xa4/0xd0 [xfs] xfs_bulkstat+0xfa/0x170 [xfs] xfs_ioc_fsbulkstat.isra.0+0x13a/0x230 [xfs] xfs_file_ioctl+0xbf2/0x10e0 [xfs] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x76/0xc0 do_syscall_64+0x4e/0x1e0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 1300113 Comm: xfs_scrub Not tainted 6.18.0-rc4-djwx #rc4 PREEMPT(lazy) 3d744dd94e92690f00a04398d2bd8631dcef1954 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.16.0-4.module+el8.8.0+21164+ed375313 04/01/2014 ================================================================== On further analysis, I realized that the second parameter to min() is not correct. xfs_ifork::if_bytes is the size of the xfs_ifork::if_data buffer. if_bytes can be smaller than the data fork size because: (a) the forkoff code tries to keep the data area as large as possible (b) for symbolic links, if_bytes is the ondisk file size + 1 (c) forkoff is always a multiple of 8. Case in point: for a single-byte symlink target, forkoff will be 8 but the buffer will only be 2 bytes long. In other words, the logic here is wrong and we walk off the end of the incore buffer. Fix that.
INFO
Published Date :
Dec. 4, 2025, 4:16 p.m.
Last Modified :
Dec. 4, 2025, 5:15 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Affected Products
The following products are affected by CVE-2025-40246
vulnerability.
Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the
products
that
are
affected, the information is not represented in the table below.
No affected product recoded yet
Solution
- Correct the logic for calculating buffer sizes in symlink repair.
- Ensure min() function uses correct parameters for buffer safety.
- Apply updates to the Linux kernel's XFS filesystem module.
- Test the XFS filesystem for corrected symlink handling.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2025-40246.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2025-40246 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2025-40246
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2025-40246 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2025-40246 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
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New CVE Received by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Dec. 04, 2025
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xfs: fix out of bounds memory read error in symlink repair xfs/286 produced this report on my test fleet: ================================================================== BUG: KFENCE: out-of-bounds read in memcpy_orig+0x54/0x110 Out-of-bounds read at 0xffff88843fe9e038 (184B right of kfence-#184): memcpy_orig+0x54/0x110 xrep_symlink_salvage_inline+0xb3/0xf0 [xfs] xrep_symlink_salvage+0x100/0x110 [xfs] xrep_symlink+0x2e/0x80 [xfs] xrep_attempt+0x61/0x1f0 [xfs] xfs_scrub_metadata+0x34f/0x5c0 [xfs] xfs_ioc_scrubv_metadata+0x387/0x560 [xfs] xfs_file_ioctl+0xe23/0x10e0 [xfs] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x76/0xc0 do_syscall_64+0x4e/0x1e0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 kfence-#184: 0xffff88843fe9df80-0xffff88843fe9dfea, size=107, cache=kmalloc-128 allocated by task 3470 on cpu 1 at 263329.131592s (192823.508886s ago): xfs_init_local_fork+0x79/0xe0 [xfs] xfs_iformat_local+0xa4/0x170 [xfs] xfs_iformat_data_fork+0x148/0x180 [xfs] xfs_inode_from_disk+0x2cd/0x480 [xfs] xfs_iget+0x450/0xd60 [xfs] xfs_bulkstat_one_int+0x6b/0x510 [xfs] xfs_bulkstat_iwalk+0x1e/0x30 [xfs] xfs_iwalk_ag_recs+0xdf/0x150 [xfs] xfs_iwalk_run_callbacks+0xb9/0x190 [xfs] xfs_iwalk_ag+0x1dc/0x2f0 [xfs] xfs_iwalk_args.constprop.0+0x6a/0x120 [xfs] xfs_iwalk+0xa4/0xd0 [xfs] xfs_bulkstat+0xfa/0x170 [xfs] xfs_ioc_fsbulkstat.isra.0+0x13a/0x230 [xfs] xfs_file_ioctl+0xbf2/0x10e0 [xfs] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x76/0xc0 do_syscall_64+0x4e/0x1e0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 1300113 Comm: xfs_scrub Not tainted 6.18.0-rc4-djwx #rc4 PREEMPT(lazy) 3d744dd94e92690f00a04398d2bd8631dcef1954 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.16.0-4.module+el8.8.0+21164+ed375313 04/01/2014 ================================================================== On further analysis, I realized that the second parameter to min() is not correct. xfs_ifork::if_bytes is the size of the xfs_ifork::if_data buffer. if_bytes can be smaller than the data fork size because: (a) the forkoff code tries to keep the data area as large as possible (b) for symbolic links, if_bytes is the ondisk file size + 1 (c) forkoff is always a multiple of 8. Case in point: for a single-byte symlink target, forkoff will be 8 but the buffer will only be 2 bytes long. In other words, the logic here is wrong and we walk off the end of the incore buffer. Fix that. Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/678e1cc2f482e0985a0613ab4a5bf89c497e5acc Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7c2d68e091584149fe89bcbaf9b99b3162d46ee7 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/81a8685cac4bf081c93a7df591644f4f80240bb9