CVE-2025-39994

CVE-2025-39994 is a security vulnerability that is still awaiting full analysis and scoring. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low.

Key facts

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: media: tuner: xc5000: Fix use-after-free in xc5000_release The original code uses cancel_delayed_work() in xc5000_release(), which does not guarantee that the delayed work item timer_sleep has fully completed if it was already running. This leads to use-after-free scenarios where xc5000_release() may free the xc5000_priv while timer_sleep is still active and attempts to dereference the xc5000_priv. A typical race condition is illustrated below: CPU 0 (release thread) | CPU 1 (delayed work callback) xc5000_release() | xc5000_do_timer_sleep() cancel_delayed_work() | hybrid_tuner_release_state(priv) | kfree(priv) | | priv = container_of() // UAF Replace cancel_delayed_work() with cancel_delayed_work_sync() to ensure that the timer_sleep is properly canceled before the xc5000_priv memory is deallocated. A deadlock concern was considered: xc5000_release() is called in a process context and is not holding any locks that the timer_sleep work item might also need. Therefore, the use of the _sync() variant is safe here. This bug was initially identified through static analysis. [hverkuil: fix typo in Subject: tunner -> tuner]

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-39994?
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: media: tuner: xc5000: Fix use-after-free in xc5000_release The original code uses cancel_delayed_work() in xc5000_release(), which does not guarantee that the delayed work item timer_sleep has fully completed if it was already running. This leads to use-after-free scenarios where xc5000_release() may free the xc5000_priv while timer_sleep is still active and attempts to dereference the xc5000_priv. A typical race condition is illustrated below: CPU 0 (release thread) | CPU 1 (delayed work callback) xc5000_release() | xc5000_do_timer_sleep() cancel_delayed_work() | hybrid_tuner_release_state(priv) | kfree(priv) | | priv = container_of() // UAF Replace cancel_delayed_work() with cancel_delayed_work_sync() to ensure that the timer_sleep is properly canceled before the xc5000_priv memory is deallocated. A deadlock concern was considered: xc5000_release() is called in a process context and is not holding any locks that the timer_sleep work item might also need. Therefore, the use of the _sync() variant is safe here. This bug was initially identified through static analysis. [hverkuil: fix typo in Subject: tunner -> tuner]
Is CVE-2025-39994 being actively exploited?
It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (12th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2025-39994?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
Does CVE-2025-39994 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?
Yes. CVE-2025-39994 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2025-34579.
When was CVE-2025-39994 published?
CVE-2025-39994 was published on 2025-10-15 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References