CVE-2025-40202 ipmi: Rework user message limit handling
A use-after-free flaw in the Linux kernel IPMI driver allows attackers to potentially execute code or escalate privileges.
- 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
What is CVE-2025-40202?
CVE-2025-40202 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 12 Nov 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:
ipmi: Rework user message limit handling
The limit on the number of user messages had a number of issues, improper counting in some cases and a use after free.
Restructure how this is all done to handle more in the receive message allocation routine, so all refcouting and user message limit counts are done in that routine. It's a lot cleaner and safer.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-40202?
How do I fix CVE-2025-40202?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. These bugs are found with fuzzing and sanitisers and avoided by memory-safe languages. More about Use after free.
Is CVE-2025-40202 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-40202 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-70115, BELL-CVE-2025-40202, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-40202, GHSA-cc93-7wpm-wqh7, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2025-40202, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-40202 and 1 more.