# CVE-2025-39756: fs: Prevent file descriptor table allocations exceeding INT_MAX > A local attacker can trigger excessive memory allocation attempts by exploiting integer overflow in file descriptor table sizing, causing kernel warnings and potential denial of service. - **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`) - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** Any signed-in user - **Attackable:** Local or same network only - **Victim action needed:** Not needed - **Fix available:** Yes - **Published:** 11 Sep 2025 - **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026 - **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2025-39756, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-39756, GHSA-vv89-4q7p-gwx6, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2025-39756, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2025-39756, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2025-39756, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-39756, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-39756 ## What is CVE-2025-39756? CVE-2025-39756 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 11 Sep 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim. ### Official description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs: Prevent file descriptor table allocations exceeding INT_MAX When sysctl_nr_open is set to a very high value (for example, 1073741816 as set by systemd), processes attempting to use file descriptors near the limit can trigger massive memory allocation attempts that exceed INT_MAX, resulting in a WARNING in mm/slub.c: WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 44 at mm/slub.c:5027 __kvmalloc_node_noprof+0x21a/0x288 This happens because kvmalloc_array() and kvmalloc() check if the requested size exceeds INT_MAX and emit a warning when the allocation is not flagged with __GFP_NOWARN. Specifically, when nr_open is set to 1073741816 (0x3ffffff8) and a process calls dup2(oldfd, 1073741880), the kernel attempts to allocate: - File descriptor array: 1073741880 * 8 bytes = 8,589,935,040 bytes - Multiple bitmaps: ~400MB - Total allocation size: > 8GB (exceeding INT_MAX = 2,147,483,647) Reproducer: 1. Set /proc/sys/fs/nr_open to 1073741816: # echo 1073741816 > /proc/sys/fs/nr_open 2. Run a program that uses a high file descriptor: #include #include int main() { struct rlimit rlim = {1073741824, 1073741824}; setrlimit(RLIMIT_NOFILE, &rlim); dup2(2, 1073741880); // Triggers the warning return 0; } 3. Observe WARNING in dmesg at mm/slub.c:5027 systemd commit a8b627a introduced automatic bumping of fs.nr_open to the maximum possible value. The rationale was that systems with memory control groups (memcg) no longer need separate file descriptor limits since memory is properly accounted. However, this change overlooked that: 1. The kernel's allocation functions still enforce INT_MAX as a maximum size regardless of memcg accounting 2. Programs and tests that legitimately test file descriptor limits can inadvertently trigger massive allocations 3. The resulting allocations (>8GB) are impractical and will always fail systemd's algorithm starts with INT_MAX and keeps halving the value until the kernel accepts it. On most systems, this results in nr_open being set to 1073741816 (0x3ffffff8), which is just under 1GB of file descriptors. While processes rarely use file descriptors near this limit in normal operation, certain selftests (like tools/testing/selftests/core/unshare_test.c) and programs that test file descriptor limits can trigger this issue. Fix this by adding a check in alloc_fdtable() to ensure the requested allocation size does not exceed INT_MAX. This causes the operation to fail with -EMFILE instead of triggering a kernel warning and avoids the impractical >8GB memory allocation request. Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-39756? It affects 2 products. Products: Debian Debian Linux, Linux kernel. ## How do I fix CVE-2025-39756? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2025-39756 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-39756 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux - [CVE-2015-3306](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3306/): ProFTPD Improper Access Control (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2025-49113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-49113/): RoundCube Webmail Deserialization of Untrusted Data (critical 9.9, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2026-24061](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24061/): GNU InetUtils Argument Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2025-39682](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39682/): Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2024-9680](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9680/): Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild) ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2025-39756 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2025-39756 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 11 Sep 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim. Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-39756 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected product: Debian Debian Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page. Task: 1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies. 2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it. 3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead. 4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why. 5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing. Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39756/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39756/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-39756 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-39756 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-39756 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39756/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.