kernfs: Relax constraint in draining guard
The active reference lifecycle provides the break/unbreak mechanism but
the active reference is not truly active after unbreak -- callers don't
use it afterwards but it's important for proper pairing of kn->active
counting. Assuming this mechanism is in place, the WARN check in
kernfs_should_drain_open_files() is too sensitive -- it may transiently
catch those (rightful) callers between
kernfs_unbreak_active_protection() and kernfs_put_active() as found out by Chen
Ridong:
kernfs_remove_by_name_ns kernfs_get_active // active=1
__kernfs_remove // active=0x80000002
kernfs_drain ...
wait_event
//waiting (active == 0x80000001)
kernfs_break_active_protection
// active = 0x80000001
// continue
kernfs_unbreak_active_protection
// active = 0x80000002
...
kernfs_should_drain_open_files
// warning occurs
kernfs_put_active
To avoid the false positives (mind panic_on_warn) remove the check altogether.
(This is meant as quick fix, I think active reference break/unbreak may be
simplified with larger rework.)
Analysis and contextual insights are available on OpenCVE Cloud.
No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.
Additional remediation guidance may be available on OpenCVE Cloud.
Tracking
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| Source | ID | Title |
|---|---|---|
Debian DLA |
DLA-4328-1 | linux-6.1 security update |
Debian DSA |
DSA-5973-1 | linux security update |
EUVD |
EUVD-2025-20966 | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: kernfs: Relax constraint in draining guard The active reference lifecycle provides the break/unbreak mechanism but the active reference is not truly active after unbreak -- callers don't use it afterwards but it's important for proper pairing of kn->active counting. Assuming this mechanism is in place, the WARN check in kernfs_should_drain_open_files() is too sensitive -- it may transiently catch those (rightful) callers between kernfs_unbreak_active_protection() and kernfs_put_active() as found out by Chen Ridong: kernfs_remove_by_name_ns kernfs_get_active // active=1 __kernfs_remove // active=0x80000002 kernfs_drain ... wait_event //waiting (active == 0x80000001) kernfs_break_active_protection // active = 0x80000001 // continue kernfs_unbreak_active_protection // active = 0x80000002 ... kernfs_should_drain_open_files // warning occurs kernfs_put_active To avoid the false positives (mind panic_on_warn) remove the check altogether. (This is meant as quick fix, I think active reference break/unbreak may be simplified with larger rework.) |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-7769-1 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-7769-2 | Linux kernel (Real-time) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-7769-3 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-7770-1 | Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-7771-1 | Linux kernel (OEM) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-7789-1 | Linux kernel (Oracle) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-7789-2 | Linux kernel (Raspberry Pi) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8028-1 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8028-2 | Linux kernel (Real-time) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8031-1 | Linux kernel (GCP) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8028-3 | Linux kernel (Real-time) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8028-4 | Linux kernel (FIPS) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8028-5 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8031-2 | Linux kernel (GCP FIPS) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8028-6 | Linux kernel (HWE) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8031-3 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8052-1 | Linux kernel (Low Latency) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8028-7 | Linux kernel (Low Latency NVIDIA) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8028-8 | Linux kernel (IBM) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8052-2 | Linux kernel (Xilinx) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8074-1 | Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8074-2 | Linux kernel (Azure FIPS) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8126-1 | Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities |
Thu, 18 Dec 2025 17:00:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| First Time appeared |
Debian
Debian debian Linux |
|
| Weaknesses | NVD-CWE-noinfo | |
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
|
| Vendors & Products |
Debian
Debian debian Linux |
Mon, 03 Nov 2025 18:30:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| References |
|
Wed, 16 Jul 2025 13:45:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Metrics |
epss
|
epss
|
Fri, 11 Jul 2025 12:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| References |
| |
| Metrics |
threat_severity
|
cvssV3_1
|
Thu, 10 Jul 2025 08:00:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: kernfs: Relax constraint in draining guard The active reference lifecycle provides the break/unbreak mechanism but the active reference is not truly active after unbreak -- callers don't use it afterwards but it's important for proper pairing of kn->active counting. Assuming this mechanism is in place, the WARN check in kernfs_should_drain_open_files() is too sensitive -- it may transiently catch those (rightful) callers between kernfs_unbreak_active_protection() and kernfs_put_active() as found out by Chen Ridong: kernfs_remove_by_name_ns kernfs_get_active // active=1 __kernfs_remove // active=0x80000002 kernfs_drain ... wait_event //waiting (active == 0x80000001) kernfs_break_active_protection // active = 0x80000001 // continue kernfs_unbreak_active_protection // active = 0x80000002 ... kernfs_should_drain_open_files // warning occurs kernfs_put_active To avoid the false positives (mind panic_on_warn) remove the check altogether. (This is meant as quick fix, I think active reference break/unbreak may be simplified with larger rework.) | |
| Title | kernfs: Relax constraint in draining guard | |
| References |
|
|
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-05-11T21:24:51.633Z
Reserved: 2025-04-16T04:51:24.000Z
Link: CVE-2025-38282
No data.
Status : Analyzed
Published: 2025-07-10T08:15:26.610
Modified: 2025-12-18T16:50:33.577
Link: CVE-2025-38282
OpenCVE Enrichment
Updated: 2025-07-13T11:06:33Z
Debian DLA
Debian DSA
EUVD
Ubuntu USN