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CVE-2025-40120 (GCVE-0-2025-40120)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2025-11-12 10:23 – Updated: 2026-05-11 21:43
VLAI
Title
net: usb: asix: hold PM usage ref to avoid PM/MDIO + RTNL deadlock
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.
Severity
No CVSS data available.
Assigner
References
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version CPE status
Linux Linux Affected: 4a2c7217cd5a87e85ceb761e307b030fe6db4805 , < 71a0ba7fdaf8d035426912a4ed7bf1738a81010c (git)
Affected: 4a2c7217cd5a87e85ceb761e307b030fe6db4805 , < 3e96cd27ff1a004d84908c1b6cc68ac60913874e (git)
Affected: 4a2c7217cd5a87e85ceb761e307b030fe6db4805 , < 724a9db84188f80ef60b1f21cc7b4e9c84e0cb64 (git)
Affected: 4a2c7217cd5a87e85ceb761e307b030fe6db4805 , < 1534517300e12f2930b6ff477b8820ff658afd11 (git)
Affected: 4a2c7217cd5a87e85ceb761e307b030fe6db4805 , < 9d8bcaf6fae1bd82bc27ec09a2694497e6f6c4b4 (git)
Affected: 4a2c7217cd5a87e85ceb761e307b030fe6db4805 , < 3d3c4cd5c62f24bb3cb4511b7a95df707635e00a (git)
guessed Create a notification for this product.
Linux Linux Affected: 5.14
Unaffected: 0 , < 5.14 (semver)
Unaffected: 5.15.195 , ≤ 5.15.* (semver)
Unaffected: 6.1.156 , ≤ 6.1.* (semver)
Unaffected: 6.6.112 , ≤ 6.6.* (semver)
Unaffected: 6.12.53 , ≤ 6.12.* (semver)
Unaffected: 6.17.3 , ≤ 6.17.* (semver)
Unaffected: 6.18 , ≤ * (original_commit_for_fix)
guessed Create a notification for this product.
Show details on NVD website
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          "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnet: usb: asix: hold PM usage ref to avoid PM/MDIO + RTNL deadlock\n\nPrevent USB runtime PM (autosuspend) for AX88772* in bind.\n\nusbnet enables runtime PM (autosuspend) by default, so disabling it via\nthe usb_driver flag is ineffective. On AX88772B, autosuspend shows no\nmeasurable power saving with current driver (no link partner, admin\nup/down). The ~0.453 W -\u003e ~0.248 W drop on v6.1 comes from phylib powering\nthe PHY off on admin-down, not from USB autosuspend.\n\nThe real hazard is that with runtime PM enabled, ndo_open() (under RTNL)\nmay synchronously trigger autoresume (usb_autopm_get_interface()) into\nasix_resume() while the USB PM lock is held. Resume paths then invoke\nphylink/phylib and MDIO, which also expect RTNL, leading to possible\ndeadlocks or PM lock vs MDIO wake issues.\n\nTo avoid this, keep the device runtime-PM active by taking a usage\nreference in ax88772_bind() and dropping it in unbind(). A non-zero PM\nusage count blocks runtime suspend regardless of userspace policy\n(.../power/control - pm_runtime_allow/forbid), making this approach\nrobust against sysfs overrides.\n\nHolding a runtime-PM usage ref does not affect system-wide suspend;\nsystem sleep/resume callbacks continue to run as before."
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    "dateReserved": "2025-04-16T07:20:57.169Z",
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    "state": "PUBLISHED"
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            "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnet: usb: asix: hold PM usage ref to avoid PM/MDIO + RTNL deadlock\n\nPrevent USB runtime PM (autosuspend) for AX88772* in bind.\n\nusbnet enables runtime PM (autosuspend) by default, so disabling it via\nthe usb_driver flag is ineffective. On AX88772B, autosuspend shows no\nmeasurable power saving with current driver (no link partner, admin\nup/down). The ~0.453 W -\u003e ~0.248 W drop on v6.1 comes from phylib powering\nthe PHY off on admin-down, not from USB autosuspend.\n\nThe real hazard is that with runtime PM enabled, ndo_open() (under RTNL)\nmay synchronously trigger autoresume (usb_autopm_get_interface()) into\nasix_resume() while the USB PM lock is held. Resume paths then invoke\nphylink/phylib and MDIO, which also expect RTNL, leading to possible\ndeadlocks or PM lock vs MDIO wake issues.\n\nTo avoid this, keep the device runtime-PM active by taking a usage\nreference in ax88772_bind() and dropping it in unbind(). A non-zero PM\nusage count blocks runtime suspend regardless of userspace policy\n(.../power/control - pm_runtime_allow/forbid), making this approach\nrobust against sysfs overrides.\n\nHolding a runtime-PM usage ref does not affect system-wide suspend;\nsystem sleep/resume callbacks continue to run as before."
          }
        ],
        "id": "CVE-2025-40120",
        "lastModified": "2026-06-17T09:21:17.910",
        "metrics": {},
        "published": "2025-11-12T11:15:41.430",
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        "sourceIdentifier": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
        "vulnStatus": "Deferred"
      }
    },
    "redhat_vex": {
      "aggregate_severity": "Moderate",
      "current_release_date": "2026-06-30T10:28:00+00:00",
      "cve": "CVE-2025-40120",
      "id": "CVE-2025-40120",
      "initial_release_date": "2025-11-12T00:00:00+00:00",
      "product_status:known_affected": "232",
      "product_status:known_not_affected": "42",
      "source": "Red Hat CSAF VEX",
      "status": "final",
      "title": "kernel: net: usb: asix: hold PM usage ref to avoid PM/MDIO + RTNL deadlock",
      "url": "https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2025/cve-2025-40120.json",
      "version": "3"
    }
  }
}



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Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.

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  • Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
  • Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
  • Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
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  • Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
  • Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.


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