net: usb: asix: hold PM usage ref to avoid PM/MDIO + RTNL deadlock
Key facts
- Attack vector
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- Privileges required
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- User interaction
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- Attack complexity
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- Impact type
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- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
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- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 3 without a fix
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: usb: asix: hold PM usage ref to avoid PM/MDIO + RTNL deadlock Prevent USB runtime PM (autosuspend) for AX88772* in bind. usbnet enables runtime PM (autosuspend) by default, so disabling it via the usb_driver flag is ineffective. On AX88772B, autosuspend shows no measurable power saving with current driver (no link partner, admin up/down). The ~0.453 W -> ~0.248 W drop on v6.1 comes from phylib powering the PHY off on admin-down, not from USB autosuspend. The real hazard is that with runtime PM enabled, ndo_open() (under RTNL) may synchronously trigger autoresume (usb_autopm_get_interface()) into asix_resume() while the USB PM lock is held. Resume paths then invoke phylink/phylib and MDIO, which also expect RTNL, leading to possible deadlocks or PM lock vs MDIO wake issues. To avoid this, keep the device runtime-PM active by taking a usage reference in ax88772_bind() and dropping it in unbind(). A non-zero PM usage count blocks runtime suspend regardless of userspace policy (.../power/control - pm_runtime_allow/forbid), making this approach robust against sysfs overrides. Holding a runtime-PM usage ref does not affect system-wide suspend; system sleep/resume callbacks continue to run as before.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.15.195, 6.1.156, 6.6.112, 6.12.53, 6.17.3, 6.18
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2025-40120
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-3wr8-h4v3-7726
References
Other 6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/71a0ba7fdaf8d035426912a4ed7bf1738a81010c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3e96cd27ff1a004d84908c1b6cc68ac60913874e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/724a9db84188f80ef60b1f21cc7b4e9c84e0cb64
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1534517300e12f2930b6ff477b8820ff658afd11
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9d8bcaf6fae1bd82bc27ec09a2694497e6f6c4b4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3d3c4cd5c62f24bb3cb4511b7a95df707635e00a
More Linux vulnerabilities
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- TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2021-02452 Incorrect authorization in Ubuntu linux kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
Sources
- CVE-2025-40120 · CVE Program
- CVE-2025-40120 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-3wr8-h4v3-7726 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2025-40120 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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