Linux: Use After Free
CVE-2025-21714 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 032f3f799fdb807a21467b7dc7d620395a735e2b, a306dfff6b76aafa264ad33874a8992a8d5858b7, 7cc8f681f6d4ae4478ae0f60485fc768f2b450da as the first without the flaw, so updating Linux to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.24% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update Linux to 032f3f799fdb807a21467b7dc7d620395a735e2b or a306dfff6b76aafa264ad33874a8992a8d5858b7 or 7cc8f681f6d4ae4478ae0f60485fc768f2b450da or edfb65dbb9ffd3102f3ff4dd21316158e56f1976, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update Linux Kernel to 6.12.13 or 6.13.2, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 5256edcb98a14b11409a2d323f56a70a8b366363 up to, but not including, 032f3f799fdb807a21467b7dc7d620395a735e2b; 5256edcb98a14b11409a2d323f56a70a8b366363 up to, but not including, a306dfff6b76aafa264ad33874a8992a8d5858b7; 5256edcb98a14b11409a2d323f56a70a8b366363 up to, but not including, 7cc8f681f6d4ae4478ae0f60485fc768f2b450da; 5256edcb98a14b11409a2d323f56a70a8b366363 up to, but not including, edfb65dbb9ffd3102f3ff4dd21316158e56f1976; 5256edcb98a14b11409a2d323f56a70a8b366363 up to, but not including, d3d930411ce390e532470194296658a960887773; 5.5 | 032f3f799fdb807a21467b7dc7d620395a735e2b, a306dfff6b76aafa264ad33874a8992a8d5858b7, 7cc8f681f6d4ae4478ae0f60485fc768f2b450da, edfb65dbb9ffd3102f3ff4dd21316158e56f1976, d3d930411ce390e532470194296658a960887773 |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | 5.5 up to, but not including, 6.12.13; 6.13 up to, but not including, 6.13.2 | 6.12.13, 6.13.2 |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- LowA basic user account is enough.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA.
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.8 | High | CNA |
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.8 | High | CISA (ADP) |
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: RDMA/mlx5: Fix implicit ODP use after free Prevent double queueing of implicit ODP mr destroy work by using __xa_cmpxchg() to make sure this is the only time we are destroying this specific mr. Without this change, we could try to invalidate this mr twice, which in turn could result in queuing a MR work destroy twice, and eventually the second work could execute after the MR was freed due to the first work, causing a user after free and trace below. refcount_t: underflow; use-after-free. WARNING: CPU: 2 PID: 12178 at lib/refcount.c:28 refcount_warn_saturate+0x12b/0x130 Modules linked in: bonding ib_ipoib vfio_pci ip_gre geneve nf_tables ip6_gre gre ip6_tunnel tunnel6 ipip tunnel4 ib_umad rdma_ucm mlx5_vfio_pci vfio_pci_core vfio_iommu_type1 mlx5_ib vfio ib_uverbs mlx5_core iptable_raw openvswitch nsh rpcrdma ib_iser libiscsi scsi_transport_iscsi rdma_cm iw_cm ib_cm ib_core xt_conntrack xt_MASQUERADE nf_conntrack_netlink nfnetlink xt_addrtype iptable_nat nf_nat br_netfilter rpcsec_gss_krb5 auth_rpcgss oid_registry overlay zram zsmalloc fuse [last unloaded: ib_uverbs] CPU: 2 PID: 12178 Comm: kworker/u20:5 Not tainted 6.5.0-rc1_net_next_mlx5_58c644e #1 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS rel-1.13.0-0-gf21b5a4aeb02-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 Workqueue: events_unbound free_implicit_child_mr_work [mlx5_ib] RIP: 0010:refcount_warn_saturate+0x12b/0x130 Code: 48 c7 c7 38 95 2a 82 c6 05 bc c6 fe 00 01 e8 0c 66 aa ff 0f 0b 5b c3 48 c7 c7 e0 94 2a 82 c6 05 a7 c6 fe 00 01 e8 f5 65 aa ff <0f> 0b 5b c3 90 8b 07 3d 00 00 00 c0 74 12 83 f8 01 74 13 8d 50 ff RSP: 0018:ffff8881008e3e40 EFLAGS: 00010286 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 0000000000000027 RDX: ffff88852c91b5c8 RSI: 0000000000000001 RDI: ffff88852c91b5c0 RBP: ffff8881dacd4e00 R08: 00000000ffffffff R09: 0000000000000019 R10: 000000000000072e R11: 0000000063666572 R12: ffff88812bfd9e00 R13: ffff8881c792d200 R14: ffff88810011c005 R15: ffff8881002099c0 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff88852c900000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 00007f5694b5e000 CR3: 00000001153f6003 CR4: 0000000000370ea0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: <TASK> ? refcount_warn_saturate+0x12b/0x130 free_implicit_child_mr_work+0x180/0x1b0 [mlx5_ib] process_one_work+0x1cc/0x3c0 worker_thread+0x218/0x3c0 kthread+0xc6/0xf0 ret_from_fork+0x1f/0x30 </TASK>
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Use After Free
The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory belongs to the code that operates on the new pointer.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
- When freeing pointers, be sure to set them to NULL once they are freed. However, the utilization of multiple or complex data structures may lower the usefulness of this strategy.
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Patches and release notes
Other references
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