Linux Kernel usbnet Driver Race Condition Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

September 14th, 2026
ZDI-26-702 ZDI-CAN-22166

CVE ID

CVE-2025-22050

CVSS Score

7.1 AV:P/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected Vendors

Linux

Affected Products

Kernel

Vulnerability Details

This vulnerability allows physically present attackers to escalate privileges on affected installations of Linux Kernel. Authentication is not required to exploit this vulnerability.

The specific flaw exists within the processing of the usbnet_deferred_kevent work queue. The issue results from the lack of proper locking when performing operations on an object. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code in the context of the kernel.

Additional Details

Linux has issued an update to correct this vulnerability. More details can be found at:
https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/04e906839a053f092ef53f4fb2d610983412b904

Disclosure Timeline

  • 2023-09-20 - Vulnerability reported to vendor
  • 2026-09-14 - Coordinated public release of advisory
  • 2026-09-14 - Advisory Updated

Credit

Lucas Leong (@_wmliang_) of Trend Micro Zero Day Initiative

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