---
id: CVE-2025-68740
title: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  ima: Handle error code returned by ima_filter_rule_match()

  In ima_match_rules(), if ima_filter_rule_match() returns -ENOENT due to
  the rule being NULL, the function in…
summary: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  ima: Handle error code returned by ima_filter_rule_match()

  In ima_match_rules(), if ima_filter_rule_match() returns -ENOENT due to
  the rule being NULL, the function in…
severity: none
published: '2025-12-24'
updated: '2026-09-29'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-29T19:10:00.160'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-68740'
references:
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/32952c4f4d1b2deb30dce72ba109da808a9018e1'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/738c9738e690f5cea24a3ad6fd2d9a323cf614f6'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/88cd5fbf5869731be8fc6f7cecb4e0d6ab3d8749'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c2238d487a640ae3511e1b6f4640ab27ce10d7f6'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cca3e7df3c0f99542033657ba850b9a6d27f8784'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d14e0ec6a6828ee0dffa163fb5d513c9a21f0a51'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/de4431faf308d0c533cb386f5fa9af009bc86158'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f2f4627b74c120fcdd8e1db93bc91f9bbaf46f85'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
tags:
  - nvd
epss: 0.00207
epssPercentile: 0.09667
ingestedAt: '2026-09-29T19:44:04.087Z'
---

## Overview

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

ima: Handle error code returned by ima_filter_rule_match()

In ima_match_rules(), if ima_filter_rule_match() returns -ENOENT due to
the rule being NULL, the function incorrectly skips the 'if (!rc)' check
and sets 'result = true'. The LSM rule is considered a match, causing
extra files to be measured by IMA.

This issue can be reproduced in the following scenario:
After unloading the SELinux policy module via 'semodule -d', if an IMA
measurement is triggered before ima_lsm_rules is updated,
in ima_match_rules(), the first call to ima_filter_rule_match() returns
-ESTALE. This causes the code to enter the 'if (rc == -ESTALE &&
!rule_reinitialized)' block, perform ima_lsm_copy_rule() and retry. In
ima_lsm_copy_rule(), since the SELinux module has been removed, the rule
becomes NULL, and the second call to ima_filter_rule_match() returns
-ENOENT. This bypasses the 'if (!rc)' check and results in a false match.

Call trace:
  selinux_audit_rule_match+0x310/0x3b8
  security_audit_rule_match+0x60/0xa0
  ima_match_rules+0x2e4/0x4a0
  ima_match_policy+0x9c/0x1e8
  ima_get_action+0x48/0x60
  process_measurement+0xf8/0xa98
  ima_bprm_check+0x98/0xd8
  security_bprm_check+0x5c/0x78
  search_binary_handler+0x6c/0x318
  exec_binprm+0x58/0x1b8
  bprm_execve+0xb8/0x130
  do_execveat_common.isra.0+0x1a8/0x258
  __arm64_sys_execve+0x48/0x68
  invoke_syscall+0x50/0x128
  el0_svc_common.constprop.0+0xc8/0xf0
  do_el0_svc+0x24/0x38
  el0_svc+0x44/0x200
  el0t_64_sync_handler+0x100/0x130
  el0t_64_sync+0x3c8/0x3d0

Fix this by changing 'if (!rc)' to 'if (rc <= 0)' to ensure that error
codes like -ENOENT do not bypass the check and accidentally result in a
successful match.

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.