CVE-2025-39953 | cgroup: split cgroup_destroy_wq into 3 workqueues

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cgroup: split cgroup_destroy_wq into 3 workqueues A hung task can occur during [1] LTP cgroup testing when repeatedly mounting/unmounting perf_event and net_prio controllers with systemd.unified_cgroup_hierarchy=1. The hang manifests in cgroup_lock_and_drain_offline() during root destruction. Related case: cgroup_fj_function_perf_event cgroup_fj_function.sh perf_event cgroup_fj_function_net_prio cgroup_fj_function.sh net_prio Call Trace: cgroup_lock_and_drain_offline+0x14c/0x1e8 cgroup_destroy_root+0x3c/0x2c0 css_free_rwork_fn+0x248/0x338 process_one_work+0x16c/0x3b8 worker_thread+0x22c/0x3b0 kthread+0xec/0x100 ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20 Root Cause: CPU0 CPU1 mount perf_event umount net_prio cgroup1_get_tree cgroup_kill_sb rebind_subsystems // root destruction enqueues // cgroup_destroy_wq // kill all perf_event css // one perf_event css A is dying // css A offline enqueues cgroup_destroy_wq // root destruction will be executed first css_free_rwork_fn cgroup_destroy_root cgroup_lock_and_drain_offline // some perf descendants are dying // cgroup_destroy_wq max_active = 1 // waiting for css A to die Problem scenario: 1. CPU0 mounts perf_event (rebind_subsystems) 2. CPU1 unmounts net_prio (cgroup_kill_sb), queuing root destruction work 3. A dying perf_event CSS gets queued for offline after root destruction 4. Root destruction waits for offline completion, but offline work is blocked behind root destruction in cgroup_destroy_wq (max_active=1) Solution: Split cgroup_destroy_wq into three dedicated workqueues: cgroup_offline_wq – Handles CSS offline operations cgroup_release_wq – Manages resource release cgroup_free_wq – Performs final memory deallocation This separation eliminates blocking in the CSS free path while waiting for offline operations to complete. [1] https://github.com/linux-test-project/ltp/blob/master/runtest/controllers

Published: 2025-10-04 Last update: 2026-01-23 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2025-39953 is rated Low Risk (25/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.03%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2025-39953

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-01-24 0.06% 0.03% -0.03%
2 2025-11-26 0.02% 0.06% +0.04%
3 2025-10-04 0.02%

Full EPSS history (3 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2025-39953

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2025-39953

OS Trackers for CVE-2025-39953

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2025-39953 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 2 source packages (linux, linux-6.1), 6 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 6. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2025-39953
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-39953
suse medium https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-39953/
ubuntu medium CVE-2025-39953 medium priority: Ubuntu including 158 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1414 status rows across 9 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 1017, ignored 177, released 148, needed 43, not-affected 24, pending 3, needs-triage 2. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2025-39953

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2025-39953

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 4.6, < 5.4.300 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.5, < 5.10.245 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.11, < 5.15.194 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.16, < 6.1.154 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.2, < 6.6.108 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.7, < 6.12.49 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.13, < 6.16.9 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.17 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.17 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.17 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.17 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.17 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.17 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2025-39953

cvelogic Threat Intelligence