CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2025-21928NVD status: Modified

Linux: Use After Free

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2025-21928 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 0c1fb475ef999d6c22fc3f963fdf20cb3ed1b03d, d3faae7f42181865c799d88c5054176f38ae4625, 01b18a330cda61cc21423a7d1af92cf31ded8f60 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.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update Linux to 0c1fb475ef999d6c22fc3f963fdf20cb3ed1b03d or d3faae7f42181865c799d88c5054176f38ae4625 or 01b18a330cda61cc21423a7d1af92cf31ded8f60 or cf1a6015d2f6b1f0afaa0fd6a0124ff2c7943394, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Update Linux Kernel to 5.4.291 or 5.10.235 or 5.15.179 or 6.1.131, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinux0b28cb4bcb17dcb5fe0763fc3e1a94398b8f6cf6 up to, but not including, 0c1fb475ef999d6c22fc3f963fdf20cb3ed1b03d; 0b28cb4bcb17dcb5fe0763fc3e1a94398b8f6cf6 up to, but not including, d3faae7f42181865c799d88c5054176f38ae4625; 0b28cb4bcb17dcb5fe0763fc3e1a94398b8f6cf6 up to, but not including, 01b18a330cda61cc21423a7d1af92cf31ded8f60; 0b28cb4bcb17dcb5fe0763fc3e1a94398b8f6cf6 up to, but not including, cf1a6015d2f6b1f0afaa0fd6a0124ff2c7943394; 0b28cb4bcb17dcb5fe0763fc3e1a94398b8f6cf6 up to, but not including, 560f4d1299342504a6ab8a47f575b5e6b8345ada; 0b28cb4bcb17dcb5fe0763fc3e1a94398b8f6cf6 up to, but not including, dea6a349bcaf243fff95dfd0428a26be6a0fb44e; 0b28cb4bcb17dcb5fe0763fc3e1a94398b8f6cf6 up to, but not including, eb0695d87a81e7c1f0509b7d8ee7c65fbc26aec9; 0b28cb4bcb17dcb5fe0763fc3e1a94398b8f6cf6 up to, but not including, 07583a0010696a17fb0942e0b499a62785c5fc9f; and 1 more ranges0c1fb475ef999d6c22fc3f963fdf20cb3ed1b03d, d3faae7f42181865c799d88c5054176f38ae4625, 01b18a330cda61cc21423a7d1af92cf31ded8f60, cf1a6015d2f6b1f0afaa0fd6a0124ff2c7943394, 560f4d1299342504a6ab8a47f575b5e6b8345ada, dea6a349bcaf243fff95dfd0428a26be6a0fb44e
LinuxLinux Kernel4.9 up to, but not including, 5.4.291; 5.5 up to, but not including, 5.10.235; 5.11 up to, but not including, 5.15.179; 5.16 up to, but not including, 6.1.131; 6.2 up to, but not including, 6.6.83; 6.7 up to, but not including, 6.12.19; 6.13 up to, but not including, 6.13.7; 6.145.4.291, 5.10.235, 5.15.179, 6.1.131, 6.6.83, 6.12.19

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 NVD.

Scoring systemScoreSeverityScored by
CVSS 3.17.8HighNVD
CVSS 3.17.8HighCISA (ADP)

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: HID: intel-ish-hid: Fix use-after-free issue in ishtp_hid_remove() The system can experience a random crash a few minutes after the driver is removed. This issue occurs due to improper handling of memory freeing in the ishtp_hid_remove() function. The function currently frees the `driver_data` directly within the loop that destroys the HID devices, which can lead to accessing freed memory. Specifically, `hid_destroy_device()` uses `driver_data` when it calls `hid_ishtp_set_feature()` to power off the sensor, so freeing `driver_data` beforehand can result in accessing invalid memory. This patch resolves the issue by storing the `driver_data` in a temporary variable before calling `hid_destroy_device()`, and then freeing the `driver_data` after the device is destroyed.

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.

More Use After Free vulnerabilities (CWE-416)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Use After Free vulnerabilities

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