CVE-2025-40094: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: usb: gadget: f_acm: Refactor bind path to use __free() After an bind/unbind cycle, the acm

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: usb: gadget: f_acm: Refactor bind path to use __free() After an bind/unbind cycle, the acm

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: usb: gadget: f_acm: Refactor bind path to use __free() After an bind/unbind cycle, the acm->notify_req is left stale. If a subsequent bind fails, the unified error label attempts to free this stale request, leading to a NULL pointer dereference when accessing ep->ops->free_request. Refactor the error handling in the bind path to use the __free() automatic cleanup mechanism. Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000020 Call trace: usb_ep_free_request+0x2c/0xec gs_free_req+0x30/0x44 acm_bind+0x1b8/0x1f4 usb_add_function+0xcc/0x1f0 configfs_composite_bind+0x468/0x588 gadget_bind_driver+0x104/0x270 really_probe+0x190/0x374 __driver_probe_device+0xa0/0x12c driver_probe_device+0x3c/0x218 __device_attach_driver+0x14c/0x188 bus_for_each_drv+0x10c/0x168 __device_attach+0xfc/0x198 device_initial_probe+0x14/0x24 bus_probe_device+0x94/0x11c device_add+0x268/0x48c usb_add_gadget+0x198/0x28c dwc3_gadget_init+0x700/0x858 __dwc3_set_mode+0x3cc/0x664 process_scheduled_works+0x1d8/0x488 worker_thread+0x244/0x334 kthread+0x114/0x1bc ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

What it means for a small business

Linux is on the computers, phones or browsers your team uses every day. Turn on automatic updates and restart: most of these fixes only take effect after a restart.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.15%, higher than 4% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 29, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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