CVE-2025-21678
MediumIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: gtp: Destroy device along with udp socket's netns dismantle. gtp_newlink() links the device to a list in dev_net(dev) instead of src_net, where a udp tunnel socket is created. Even when src_net is removed, the device stays alive on dev_net(dev). Then, removing src_net triggers the splat below. [0] In this example, gtp0 is created in ns2, and the udp socket is created in ns1. ip netns add ns1 ip netns add ns2 ip -n ns1 link add netns ns2 name gtp0 type gtp role sgsn ip netns del ns1 Let's link the device to the socket's netns instead. Now, gtp_net_exit_batch_rtnl() needs another netdev iteration to remove all gtp devices in the netns. [0]: ref_tracker: net notrefcnt@000000003d6e7d05 has 1/2 users at sk_alloc (./include/net/net_namespace.h:345 net/core/sock.c:2236) inet_create (net/ipv4/af_inet.c:326 net/ipv4/af_inet.c:252) __sock_create (net/socket.c:1558) udp_sock_create4 (net/ipv4/udp_tunnel_core.c:18) gtp_create_sock (./include/net/udp_tunnel.h:59 drivers/net/gtp.c:1423) gtp_create_sockets (drivers/net/gtp.c:1447) gtp_newlink (drivers/net/gtp.c:1507) rtnl_newlink (net/core/rtnetlink.c:3786 net/core/rtnetlink.c:3897 net/core/rtnetlink.c:4012) rtnetlink_rcv_msg (net/core/rtnetlink.c:6922) netlink_rcv_skb (net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2542) netlink_unicast (net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1321 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1347) netlink_sendmsg (net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1891) ____sys_sendmsg (net/socket.c:711 net/socket.c:726 net/socket.c:2583) ___sys_sendmsg (net/socket.c:2639) __sys_sendmsg (net/socket.c:2669) do_syscall_64 (arch/x86/entry/common.c:52 arch/x86/entry/common.c:83) WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 60 at lib/ref_tracker.c:179 ref_tracker_dir_exit (lib/ref_tracker.c:179) Modules linked in: CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 60 Comm: kworker/u16:2 Not tainted 6.13.0-rc5-00147-g4c1224501e9d #5 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS rel-1.16.0-0-gd239552ce722-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 Workqueue: netns cleanup_net RIP: 0010:ref_tracker_dir_exit (lib/ref_tracker.c:179) Code: 00 00 00 fc ff df 4d 8b 26 49 bd 00 01 00 00 00 00 ad de 4c 39 f5 0f 85 df 00 00 00 48 8b 74 24 08 48 89 df e8 a5 cc 12 02 90 <0f> 0b 90 48 8d 6b 44 be 04 00 00 00 48 89 ef e8 80 de 67 ff 48 89 RSP: 0018:ff11000009a07b60 EFLAGS: 00010286 RAX: 0000000000002bd3 RBX: ff1100000f4e1aa0 RCX: 1ffffffff0e40ac6 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: ffffffff8423ee3c RBP: ff1100000f4e1af0 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: fffffbfff0e395ae R10: 0000000000000001 R11: 0000000000036001 R12: ff1100000f4e1af0 R13: dead000000000100 R14: ff1100000f4e1af0 R15: dffffc0000000000 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ff1100006ce80000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 00007f9b2464bd98 CR3: 0000000005286005 CR4: 0000000000771ef0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe07f0 DR7: 0000000000000400 PKRU: 55555554 Call Trace: <TASK> ? __warn (kernel/panic.c:748) ? ref_tracker_dir_exit (lib/ref_tracker.c:179) ? report_bug (lib/bug.c:201 lib/bug.c:219) ? handle_bug (arch/x86/kernel/traps.c:285) ? exc_invalid_op (arch/x86/kernel/traps.c:309 (discriminator 1)) ? asm_exc_invalid_op (./arch/x86/include/asm/idtentry.h:621) ? _raw_spin_unlock_irqrestore (./arch/x86/include/asm/irqflags.h:42 ./arch/x86/include/asm/irqflags.h:97 ./arch/x86/include/asm/irqflags.h:155 ./include/linux/spinlock_api_smp.h:151 kernel/locking/spinlock.c:194) ? ref_tracker_dir_exit (lib/ref_tracker.c:179) ? __pfx_ref_tracker_dir_exit (lib/ref_tracker.c:158) ? kfree (mm/slub.c:4613 mm/slub.c:4761) net_free (net/core/net_namespace.c:476 net/core/net_namespace.c:467) cleanup_net (net/core/net_namespace.c:664 (discriminator 3)) process_one_work (kernel/workqueue.c:3229) worker_thread (kernel/workqueue.c:3304 kernel/workqueue.c:3391 ---truncated---
CVSS 3.1 score
5.5
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
4.7
and later are affected. Fixed in
5.4.290,
5.10.234,
5.15.177,
6.1.127,
6.6.74,
6.12.11,
6.13
and their respective stable series.
References
The following references provide additional information about CVE-2025-21678 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/036f8d814a2cd11ee8ef62b8f3e7ce5dec0ee4f3
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5f1678346109ff3a6d229d33437fcba3cce9209d
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/86f73d4ab2f27deeff22ba9336ad103d94f12ac7
Frequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2025-21678?
CVE-2025-21678 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 4.7 onward and has been patched in 5.4.290, 5.10.234, 5.15.177 and others. CVE-2025-21678 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-21678?
CVE-2025-21678 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H. -
Is there a patch available for CVE-2025-21678?
Yes — CVE-2025-21678 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.4.290, 5.10.234, 5.15.177 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.7 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2025-21678 actively exploited?
No — CVE-2025-21678 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.