# CVE-2025-39796: net: lapbether: ignore ops-locked netdevs

> A lock dependency issue in the Linux kernel's lapbether driver can cause a deadlock, leading to denial of service.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 12 Sep 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2025-39796, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-39796, GHSA-w2mf-xqwh-rhg8, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-39796

## What is CVE-2025-39796?

CVE-2025-39796 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 12 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:

net: lapbether: ignore ops-locked netdevs

Syzkaller managed to trigger lock dependency in xsk_notify via
register_netdevice. As discussed in [0], using register_netdevice
in the notifiers is problematic so skip adding lapbeth for ops-locked
devices.

       xsk_notifier+0xa4/0x280 net/xdp/xsk.c:1645
       notifier_call_chain+0xbc/0x410 kernel/notifier.c:85
       call_netdevice_notifiers_info+0xbe/0x140 net/core/dev.c:2230
       call_netdevice_notifiers_extack net/core/dev.c:2268 [inline]
       call_netdevice_notifiers net/core/dev.c:2282 [inline]
       unregister_netdevice_many_notify+0xf9d/0x2700 net/core/dev.c:12077
       unregister_netdevice_many net/core/dev.c:12140 [inline]
       unregister_netdevice_queue+0x305/0x3f0 net/core/dev.c:11984
       register_netdevice+0x18f1/0x2270 net/core/dev.c:11149
       lapbeth_new_device drivers/net/wan/lapbether.c:420 [inline]
       lapbeth_device_event+0x5b1/0xbe0 drivers/net/wan/lapbether.c:462
       notifier_call_chain+0xbc/0x410 kernel/notifier.c:85
       call_netdevice_notifiers_info+0xbe/0x140 net/core/dev.c:2230
       call_netdevice_notifiers_extack net/core/dev.c:2268 [inline]
       call_netdevice_notifiers net/core/dev.c:2282 [inline]
       __dev_notify_flags+0x12c/0x2e0 net/core/dev.c:9497
       netif_change_flags+0x108/0x160 net/core/dev.c:9526
       dev_change_flags+0xba/0x250 net/core/dev_api.c:68
       devinet_ioctl+0x11d5/0x1f50 net/ipv4/devinet.c:1200
       inet_ioctl+0x3a7/0x3f0 net/ipv4/af_inet.c:1001

0: https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/20250625140357.6203d0af@kernel.org/

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-39796?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-39796?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-39796 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-39796 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-39796 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-39796 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 12 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-2025-39796 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. 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-2025-39796/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39796/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-39796
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-39796
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-39796

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39796/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.