CVE-2025-68814 io_uring: fix filename leak in __io_openat_prep()
A local attacker can trigger a memory leak in the Linux kernel io_uring subsystem, potentially leading to resource exhaustion and denial of service.
- 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-2025-68814?
CVE-2025-68814 is a memory corruption vulnerability in Linux, published on 13 Jan 2026. 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:
io_uring: fix filename leak in __io_openat_prep()
__io_openat_prep() allocates a struct filename using getname(). However, for the condition of the file being installed in the fixed file table as well as having O_CLOEXEC flag set, the function returns early. At that point, the request doesn't have REQ_F_NEED_CLEANUP flag set. Due to this, the memory for the newly allocated struct filename is not cleaned up, causing a memory leak.
Fix this by setting the REQ_F_NEED_CLEANUP for the request just after the successful getname() call, so that when the request is torn down, the filename will be cleaned up, along with other resources needing cleanup.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-68814?
How do I fix CVE-2025-68814?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.
Is CVE-2025-68814 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-68814 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-74381, BELL-CVE-2025-68814, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-68814, GHSA-x459-m5f6-mv8q, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2025-68814, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2025-68814 and 3 more.