high CVSS 7.8

CVE-2025-21800·Kernel vulnerability

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5: HWS, fix definer's HWS_SET32 macro for negative offset When bit offset for HWS_SET32 macro is negative, UBSAN complains about the shift-out-of-bounds: UBSAN: shift-out-of-bounds in drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/steering/hws/definer.c:177:2 shift exponent -8 is negative

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 fix a definer macro calculation error in the Mellanox MLX5 steering hardware offload subsystem that caused undefined behavior during shift operations. This vulnerability affects only systems with Mellanox ConnectX network adapters running affected kernel versions. Apply the kernel update through your distribution's package manager and reboot your system to activate the fix.

sudo dnf update kernel kernel-devel

Defensia detects this vulnerability

How to check if you are affected

  1. Check your kernel version: uname -r — if the output is between 6.13 and 6.13.2, your system is vulnerable
  2. Verify if MLX5 hardware offload is enabled: lsmod | grep mlx5 — if no output, the vulnerable component is not loaded
  3. Search kernel logs for UBSAN warnings related to HWS_SET32: dmesg | grep -i 'shift-out-of-bounds' or journalctl -k | grep -i 'ubsan'
  4. Confirm the fix was applied by running uname -r again after reboot — the version should be 6.13.2 or higher

FAQ

What is CVE-2025-21800?

CVE-2025-21800 is a kernel defect in Mellanox MLX5 driver's HWS_SET32 macro where negative bit offsets trigger undefined shift behavior, detected by UBSAN (Undefined Behavior Sanitizer) and potentially causing system instability in network steering operations.

Is CVE-2025-21800 being actively exploited?

No, this vulnerability is not listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog and no public exploits are available. This is a low-risk code defect rather than an active security threat.

What versions of Kernel are affected by CVE-2025-21800?

Linux kernel versions 6.13 through 6.13.1 are affected; version 6.13.2 and later contain the fix.

How do I check if my server is vulnerable to CVE-2025-21800?

Run uname -r and check if the version is 6.13.0 or 6.13.1, then verify Mellanox driver is present with lsmod | grep mlx5. If both conditions are true, your system is vulnerable.

Does Defensia detect CVE-2025-21800?

Yes — Defensia's CVE advisory scanner compares installed package versions against the NVD database. If Kernel is installed on a monitored server, CVE-2025-21800 will appear in your dashboard with remediation steps.

Related Kernel CVEs

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-2026-64033CVSS 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-2026-64007CVSS 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.
CVE-2026-64025CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf, skmsg: fix verdict sk_data_ready racing with ktls rx sk_psock_strp_data_ready() already checks tls_sw_has_ctx_rx() and defers to psock->saved_data_ready when a TLS RX context is present, avoiding a conflict with the TLS strparser's ownership of the receive queue (commit e91de6afa81c, "bpf: Fix running sk_skb program types with ktls"). sk_psock_verdict_data_ready() has no equivalent guard. When a socket is inserted into a sockmap (BPF_SK_SKB_VERDICT) before TLS RX is configured, tls_sw_strparser_arm() saves sk_psock_verdict_data_ready as rx_ctx->saved_data_ready. On data arrival: tls_data_ready -> tls_strp_data_ready -> tls_rx_msg_ready -> saved_data_ready() = sk_psock_verdict_data_ready() -> tcp_read_skb() drains sk_receive_queue via __skb_unlink() without calling tcp_eat_skb(), so copied_seq is not advanced. tls_strp_msg_load() then finds tcp_inq() >= full_len (stale), calls tcp_recv_skb() on the now-empty queue, hits WARN_ON_ONCE(!first), and returns with rx_ctx->strp.anchor.frag_list pointing at a psock-owned (potentially freed) skb. tls_decrypt_sg() subsequently walks that frag_list: use-after-free. Apply the same fix as sk_psock_strp_data_ready(): if a TLS RX context is present, call psock->saved_data_ready (sock_def_readable) to wake recv() waiters and return immediately, leaving the receive queue untouched. TLS retains sole ownership of the queue and decrypts the record normally through tls_sw_recvmsg().

References

Track CVEs across your fleet automatically

Defensia scans your Linux servers and tells you exactly which ones are running vulnerable versions — including CVE-2025-21800. Free for 1 server.

Get started free