high CVSS 7.1

CVE-2025-21647·Kernel vulnerability

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sched: sch_cake: add bounds checks to host bulk flow fairness counts Even though we fixed a logic error in the commit cited below, syzbot still managed to trigger an underflow of the per-host bulk flow counters, leading to an out of bounds memory access. To avoid any such logic errors causing out of bounds memory accesses, this commit factors out all accesses to the per-host bulk flow counters to a series of helpers that perform bounds-checking before any increments and decrements. This also has the benefit of improving readability by moving the conditional checks for the flow mode into these helpers, instead of having them spread out throughout the code (which was the cause of the original logic error). As part of this change, the flow quantum calculation is consolidated into a helper function, which means that the dithering applied to the ost load scaling is now applied both in the DRR rotation and when a sparse flow's quantum is first initiated. The only user-visible effect of this is that the maximum packet size that can be sent while a flow stays sparse will now vary with +/- one byte in some cases. This should not make a noticeable difference in practice, and thus it's not worth complicating the code to preserve the old behaviour.

Severity
high
Software
Kernel
Fixed in
6.12.10
Published
2025-01-19

Affected versions

From: 6.11.1

Until: 6.12.10

Fixed in: 6.12.10

How to fix this CVE

Update your Linux kernel to version 6.12.10 or later to patch the memory access vulnerability in the CAKE qdisc scheduler. This vulnerability allows local authenticated attackers to trigger an underflow in per-host bulk flow counters, potentially causing kernel crashes or information disclosure. Apply the patch immediately to systems running kernel versions 6.11.1 through 6.12.9.

sudo dnf update kernel kernel-devel

Defensia detects this vulnerability

How to check if you are affected

  1. Step 1: Check your current kernel version with: uname -r
  2. Step 2: Verify if CAKE qdisc is in use by running: tc qdisc show | grep cake
  3. Step 3: Search kernel logs for CAKE-related faults using: sudo dmesg | grep -i cake or sudo journalctl -u kernel | grep -i cake
  4. Step 4: Confirm the patch was applied by checking if kernel version is 6.12.10 or later: uname -r

FAQ

What is CVE-2025-21647?

This vulnerability affects the CAKE (Common Applications Kept Enhanced) network packet scheduling discipline in the Linux kernel. A missing bounds check in per-host bulk flow fairness counters can allow local authenticated users to cause a counter underflow, resulting in out-of-bounds memory access and potential kernel crashes or information leaks.

Is CVE-2025-21647 being actively exploited?

No, CVE-2025-21647 is not currently listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, and no public exploits are available.

What versions of Kernel are affected by CVE-2025-21647?

Linux kernel versions 6.11.1 through 6.12.9 are vulnerable. Version 6.12.10 and later contain the fix.

How do I check if my server is vulnerable to CVE-2025-21647?

Run 'uname -r' to check your kernel version. If the output shows a version between 6.11.1 and 6.12.9, your system is vulnerable. Additionally, verify CAKE qdisc usage with 'tc qdisc show | grep cake'.

Does Defensia detect CVE-2025-21647?

Yes — Defensia's CVE advisory scanner compares installed package versions against the NVD database. If the Linux kernel is installed on a monitored server and the version falls within the vulnerable range, CVE-2025-21647 will appear in your dashboard with remediation steps.

Related Kernel CVEs

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CVE-2024-36031CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: keys: Fix overwrite of key expiration on instantiation The expiry time of a key is unconditionally overwritten during instantiation, defaulting to turn it permanent. This causes a problem for DNS resolution as the expiration set by user-space is overwritten to TIME64_MAX, disabling further DNS updates. Fix this by restoring the condition that key_set_expiry is only called when the pre-parser sets a specific expiry.
CVE-2024-38612CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipv6: sr: fix invalid unregister error path The error path of seg6_init() is wrong in case CONFIG_IPV6_SEG6_LWTUNNEL is not defined. In that case if seg6_hmac_init() fails, the genl_unregister_family() isn't called. This issue exist since commit 46738b1317e1 ("ipv6: sr: add option to control lwtunnel support"), and commit 5559cea2d5aa ("ipv6: sr: fix possible use-after-free and null-ptr-deref") replaced unregister_pernet_subsys() with genl_unregister_family() in this error path.
CVE-2024-38623CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs/ntfs3: Use variable length array instead of fixed size Should fix smatch warning: ntfs_set_label() error: __builtin_memcpy() 'uni->name' too small (20 vs 256)
CVE-2021-47548CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ethernet: hisilicon: hns: hns_dsaf_misc: fix a possible array overflow in hns_dsaf_ge_srst_by_port() The if statement: if (port >= DSAF_GE_NUM) return; limits the value of port less than DSAF_GE_NUM (i.e., 8). However, if the value of port is 6 or 7, an array overflow could occur: port_rst_off = dsaf_dev->mac_cb[port]->port_rst_off; because the length of dsaf_dev->mac_cb is DSAF_MAX_PORT_NUM (i.e., 6). To fix this possible array overflow, we first check port and if it is greater than or equal to DSAF_MAX_PORT_NUM, the function returns.

References

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