CVE-2025-40105: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vfs: Don't leak disconnected dentries on umount When user calls open_by_handle_a...

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vfs: Don't leak disconnected dentries on umount When user calls open_by_handle_at() on some inode that is not cached, we will create disconnected dentry for it. If such dentry is a directory, exportfs_decode_fh_raw() will then try to connect this dentry to the dentry tree through reconnect_path(). It may happen for various reasons (such as corrupted fs or race with rename) that the call to lookup_one_unlocked() in reconnect_one() will fail to find the dentry we are trying to reconnect and instead create a new dentry under the parent. Now this dentry will not be marked as disconnected although the parent still may well be disconnected (at least in case this inconsistency happened because the fs is corrupted and .. doesn't point to the real parent directory). This creates inconsistency in disconnected flags but AFAICS it was mostly harmless. At least until commit f1ee616214cb ("VFS: don't keep disconnected dentries on d_anon") which removed adding of most disconnected dentries to sb->s_anon list. Thus after this commit cleanup of disconnected dentries implicitely relies on the fact that dput() will immediately reclaim such dentries. However when some leaf dentry isn't marked as disconnected, as in the scenario described above, the reclaim doesn't happen and the dentries are "leaked". Memory reclaim can eventually reclaim them but otherwise they stay in memory and if umount comes first, we hit infamous "Busy inodes after unmount" bug. Make sure all dentries created under a disconnected parent are marked as disconnected as well.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

7.8/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS Probability

0.22%

12.3th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Affected Software

Source: CNA advisory (CVE.org). NVD analysis pending.

Vendor	Product	Versions
Linux	Linux	>= f1ee616214cb22410e939d963bbb2349c2570f02, < b5abafd0aa8d7bcb935c8f91e4cfc2f2820759e4; >= f1ee616214cb22410e939d963bbb2349c2570f02, < 20863bb7fbb016379f8227122edfabc5c799bc79; >= f1ee616214cb22410e939d963bbb2349c2570f02, < 8004d4b8cbf1bd68a23c160d57287e177c82cc69; >= f1ee616214cb22410e939d963bbb2349c2570f02, < 7e0c8aaf4e28918abded547a5147c7d52c4af7d2; >= f1ee616214cb22410e939d963bbb2349c2570f02, < cebfbf40056a4d858b2a3ca59a69936d599bd209; >= f1ee616214cb22410e939d963bbb2349c2570f02, < 620f3b0ede9c5cb4976cd0457d0b04ad551e5d6b; >= f1ee616214cb22410e939d963bbb2349c2570f02, < eadc49999fa994d6fbd70c332bd5d5051cc42261; >= f1ee616214cb22410e939d963bbb2349c2570f02, < 56094ad3eaa21e6621396cc33811d8f72847a834
Linux	Linux	4.16

References

Timeline

Published: Oct 30, 2025
Last Modified: Jul 30, 2026
Status: Deferred

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-40105?

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vfs: Don't leak disconnected dentries on umount When user calls open_by_handle_at() on some inode that is not cached, we will create disconnected dentry for it. If such dentry is a directory, exportfs_decode_fh_raw() will then try to connect this dentry to the dentry tree through reconnect_path(). It may happen for various reasons (such as corrupted fs or race with rename) that the call to lookup_one_unlocked() in reconnect_one() will fail to find the dentry we are trying to reconnect and instead create a new dentry under the parent. Now this dentry will not be marked as disconnected although the parent still may well be disconnected (at least in case this inconsistency happened because the fs is corrupted and .. doesn't point to the real parent directory). This creates inconsistency in disconnected flags but AFAICS it was mostly harmless. At least until commit f1ee616214cb ("VFS: don't keep disconnected dentries on d_anon") which removed adding of most disconnected dentries to sb->s_anon list. Thus after this commit cleanup of disconnected dentries implicitely relies on the fact that dput() will immediately reclaim such dentries. However when some leaf dentry isn't marked as disconnected, as in the scenario described above, the reclaim doesn't happen and the dentries are "leaked". Memory reclaim can eventually reclaim them but otherwise they stay in memory and if umount comes first, we hit infamous "Busy inodes after unmount" bug. Make sure all dentries created under a disconnected parent are marked as disconnected as well.

How severe is CVE-2025-40105?

CVE-2025-40105 has a CVSS score of 7.8/10 (HIGH severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.22% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2025-40105?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

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