high CVSS 7.8

CVE-2025-21718·Kernel vulnerability

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: rose: fix timer races against user threads Rose timers only acquire the socket spinlock, without checking if the socket is owned by one user thread. Add a check and rearm the timers if needed. BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in rose_timer_expiry+0x31d/0x360 net/rose/rose_timer.c:174 Read of size 2 at addr ffff88802f09b82a by task swapper/0/0 CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/0 Not tainted 6.13.0-rc5-syzkaller-00172-gd1bf27c4e176 #0 Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 09/13/2024 Call Trace: <IRQ> __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:94 [inline] dump_stack_lvl+0x241/0x360 lib/dump_stack.c:120 print_address_description mm/kasan/report.c:378 [inline] print_report+0x169/0x550 mm/kasan/report.c:489 kasan_report+0x143/0x180 mm/kasan/report.c:602 rose_timer_expiry+0x31d/0x360 net/rose/rose_timer.c:174 call_timer_fn+0x187/0x650 kernel/time/timer.c:1793 expire_timers kernel/time/timer.c:1844 [inline] __run_timers kernel/time/timer.c:2418 [inline] __run_timer_base+0x66a/0x8e0 kernel/time/timer.c:2430 run_timer_base kernel/time/timer.c:2439 [inline] run_timer_softirq+0xb7/0x170 kernel/time/timer.c:2449 handle_softirqs+0x2d4/0x9b0 kernel/softirq.c:561 __do_softirq kernel/softirq.c:595 [inline] invoke_softirq kernel/softirq.c:435 [inline] __irq_exit_rcu+0xf7/0x220 kernel/softirq.c:662 irq_exit_rcu+0x9/0x30 kernel/softirq.c:678 instr_sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt arch/x86/kernel/apic/apic.c:1049 [inline] sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt+0xa6/0xc0 arch/x86/kernel/apic/apic.c:1049 </IRQ>

Severity
high
Software
Kernel
Fixed in
6.13.2
Published
2025-02-27

Affected versions

From: 6.13

Until: 6.13.2

Fixed in: 6.13.2

How to fix this CVE

Update your Linux kernel to version 6.13.2 or later to resolve a race condition in the ROSE protocol timer handling that can lead to use-after-free memory access. This vulnerability affects kernel versions 6.13.0 through 6.13.1 and allows local authenticated users to trigger kernel memory corruption. Apply the patch immediately to prevent potential privilege escalation or denial of service.

sudo dnf check-update kernel && sudo dnf update kernel

Defensia detects this vulnerability

How to check if you are affected

  1. Step 1: Check your current kernel version by running `uname -r` and verify if it is between 6.13.0 and 6.13.1
  2. Step 2: Verify ROSE protocol support is enabled in the kernel by checking `cat /proc/net/rose` (if empty or not present, the protocol is not in use)
  3. Step 3: Search system logs for KASAN warnings related to rose_timer_expiry by running `grep -i 'rose_timer_expiry\|slab-use-after-free' /var/log/syslog /var/log/kern.log 2>/dev/null`
  4. Step 4: Confirm the patch is applied by running `uname -r` and verifying the kernel version is 6.13.2 or later

FAQ

What is CVE-2025-21718?

CVE-2025-21718 is a kernel race condition in the ROSE (Radio Open Source Exchange) protocol timer subsystem where timer callbacks access socket memory without proper locking synchronization, creating a use-after-free vulnerability when the socket is concurrently accessed by user threads.

Is CVE-2025-21718 being actively exploited?

No, CVE-2025-21718 is not currently listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog and no public exploits are available, though the vulnerability is triggered through local interaction with network sockets.

What versions of Kernel are affected by CVE-2025-21718?

Linux kernel versions 6.13.0, 6.13.1, and 6.13.2-rc versions are affected. The vulnerability is patched in the stable 6.13.2 release and backported to earlier stable kernel branches.

How do I check if my server is vulnerable to CVE-2025-21718?

Run `uname -r` to check your kernel version; systems running kernel 6.13.0 or 6.13.1 are vulnerable. Additionally, verify ROSE protocol is loaded by checking `lsmod | grep rose`.

Does Defensia detect CVE-2025-21718?

Yes — Defensia's CVE advisory scanner compares installed kernel package versions against the NVD database. If a vulnerable kernel version is detected on monitored servers, CVE-2025-21718 will appear in your dashboard with remediation steps and affected system details.

Related Kernel CVEs

CVE-2026-64033CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: RDMA/rtrs: Fix use-after-free in path file creation cleanup In the error path of rtrs_srv_create_path_files(), the sysfs root folders may already have been created and srv_path->kobj may already have been initialized. If a later step fails, the cleanup currently calls kobject_put(&srv_path->kobj) before rtrs_srv_destroy_once_sysfs_root_folders(srv_path). kobject_put() may drop the last reference to srv_path->kobj and invoke the release callback, rtrs_srv_release(), which frees srv_path. The following call to rtrs_srv_destroy_once_sysfs_root_folders(srv_path) then dereferences srv_path internally to access srv_path->srv, resulting in a use-after-free. This failure path is reached before rtrs_srv_create_path_files() returns success, so the successful-path lifetime handling is not involved. Fix this by destroying the sysfs root folders before calling kobject_put(&srv_path->kobj), so srv_path is still valid while the helper accesses it. This issue was found by a static analysis tool I am developing.
CVE-2026-64037CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: iwlwifi: mld: fix TSO segmentation explosion when AMSDU is disabled When the TLC notification disables AMSDU for a TID, the MLD driver sets max_tid_amsdu_len to the sentinel value 1. The TSO segmentation path in iwl_mld_tx_tso_segment() checks for zero but not for this sentinel, allowing it to reach the num_subframes calculation: num_subframes = (max_tid_amsdu_len + pad) / (subf_len + pad) = (1 + 2) / (1534 + 2) = 0 This zero propagates to iwl_tx_tso_segment() which sets: gso_size = num_subframes * mss = 0 Calling skb_gso_segment() with gso_size=0 creates over 32000 tiny segments from a single GSO skb. This floods the TX ring with ~1024 micro-frames (the rest are purged), creating a massive burst of TX completion events that can lead to memory corruption and a subsequent use-after-free in TCP's retransmit queue (refcount underflow in tcp_shifted_skb, NULL deref in tcp_rack_detect_loss). The MVM driver is immune because it checks mvmsta->amsdu_enabled before reaching the num_subframes calculation. The MLD driver has no equivalent bitmap check and relies solely on max_tid_amsdu_len, which does not catch the sentinel value. Fix this by detecting the sentinel value (max_tid_amsdu_len == 1) at the existing check and falling back to non-AMSDU TSO segmentation. Also add a WARN_ON_ONCE guard after the num_subframes division as defense-in-depth to catch any future code paths that produce zero through a different mechanism.
CVE-2026-100075CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: RDMA/srpt: Fix srpt_alloc_rw_ctxs() unwind counters When srpt_alloc_rw_ctxs() fails partway through a multi-buffer indirect descriptor, the unwind path destroys RDMA contexts but leaves stale n_rw_ctx and n_rdma values (and a dangling rw_ctxs pointer). Later sq_wr_avail accounting in srpt_queue_response() or srpt_write_pending() can then subtract the wrong number of send queue credits. Reset the counters and clear rw_ctxs after freeing the heap allocation before returning an error.
CVE-2026-64035CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: igc: set tx buffer type for SMD frames Sashiko pointed out that igc_fpe_init_smd_frame() initializes igc_tx_buffer fields for an SMD skb, but does not set the buffer type: https://sashiko.dev/#/patchset/20260415025226.114115-1-kohei%40enjuk.jp Since igc_tx_buffer entries are reused, a stale XDP or XSK type can remain and make TX completion use the wrong cleanup path. Set the buffer type to IGC_TX_BUFFER_TYPE_SKB.
CVE-2026-64007CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: synproxy: refresh tcphdr after skb_ensure_writable synproxy_tstamp_adjust() rewrites the TCP timestamp option in place and then patches the TCP checksum via inet_proto_csum_replace4() on the caller-supplied tcphdr pointer. Both ipv4_synproxy_hook() and ipv6_synproxy_hook() obtain that pointer with skb_header_pointer() before calling in, so it may either alias skb->head directly or point at the caller's on-stack _tcph buffer. Between obtaining the pointer and using it, the function calls skb_ensure_writable(skb, optend), which on a cloned or non-linear skb invokes pskb_expand_head() and frees the old skb->head. After that point the cached th is stale: caller (ipv[46]_synproxy_hook) th = skb_header_pointer(skb, ..., &_tcph) synproxy_tstamp_adjust(skb, protoff, th, ...) skb_ensure_writable(skb, optend) pskb_expand_head() /* kfree(old skb->head) */ ... inet_proto_csum_replace4(&th->check, ...) /* writes into freed head, or into the caller's stack copy leaving the on-wire checksum stale */ The option bytes are written through skb->data and are fine; only the checksum update goes through th and so lands in the wrong place. The result is either a write into freed slab memory or a packet leaving with a checksum that does not match its payload. Fix by re-deriving th from skb->data + protoff immediately after skb_ensure_writable() succeeds, so the subsequent checksum update targets the linear, writable header.

References

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