CVE-2025-40186: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tcp: Don't call reqsk_fastopen_remove() in tcp_conn

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tcp: Don't call reqsk_fastopen_remove() in tcp_conn_request().

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tcp: Don't call reqsk_fastopen_remove() in tcp_conn_request(). syzbot reported the splat below in tcp_conn_request(). [0] If a listener is close()d while a TFO socket is being processed in tcp_conn_request(), inet_csk_reqsk_queue_add() does not set reqsk->sk and calls inet_child_forget(), which calls tcp_disconnect() for the TFO socket. After the cited commit, tcp_disconnect() calls reqsk_fastopen_remove(), where reqsk_put() is called due to !reqsk->sk. Then, reqsk_fastopen_remove() in tcp_conn_request() decrements the last req->rsk_refcnt and frees reqsk, and __reqsk_free() at the drop_and_free label causes the refcount underflow for the listener and double-free of the reqsk. Let's remove reqsk_fastopen_remove() in tcp_conn_request(). Note that other callers make sure tp->fastopen_rsk is not NULL. [0]: refcount_t: underflow; use-after-free. WARNING: CPU: 12 PID: 5563 at lib/refcount.c:28 refcount_warn_saturate (lib/refcount.c:28) Modules linked in: CPU: 12 UID: 0 PID: 5563 Comm: syz-executor Not tainted syzkaller #0 PREEMPT(full) Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Googl

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 0.58%, higher than 48% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored November 5, 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.

Weekly security brief

The flaws that hit local websites, every Friday.

One short email: what got exploited this week, which WordPress plugins broke, and what to check. Unsubscribe in one click.