CVE-2025-21790
MediumIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vxlan: check vxlan_vnigroup_init() return value vxlan_init() must check vxlan_vnigroup_init() success otherwise a crash happens later, spotted by syzbot. Oops: general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0xdffffc000000002c: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP KASAN NOPTI KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000160-0x0000000000000167] CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 7313 Comm: syz-executor147 Not tainted 6.14.0-rc1-syzkaller-00276-g69b54314c975 #0 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2~bpo12+1 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:vxlan_vnigroup_uninit+0x89/0x500 drivers/net/vxlan/vxlan_vnifilter.c:912 Code: 00 48 8b 44 24 08 4c 8b b0 98 41 00 00 49 8d 86 60 01 00 00 48 89 c2 48 89 44 24 10 48 b8 00 00 00 00 00 fc ff df 48 c1 ea 03 <80> 3c 02 00 0f 85 4d 04 00 00 49 8b 86 60 01 00 00 48 ba 00 00 00 RSP: 0018:ffffc9000cc1eea8 EFLAGS: 00010202 RAX: dffffc0000000000 RBX: 0000000000000001 RCX: ffffffff8672effb RDX: 000000000000002c RSI: ffffffff8672ecb9 RDI: ffff8880461b4f18 RBP: ffff8880461b4ef4 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 0000000000000001 R11: 0000000000000000 R12: 0000000000020000 R13: ffff8880461b0d80 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: dffffc0000000000 FS: 00007fecfa95d6c0(0000) GS:ffff88806a600000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 00007fecfa95cfb8 CR3: 000000004472c000 CR4: 0000000000352ef0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: <TASK> vxlan_uninit+0x1ab/0x200 drivers/net/vxlan/vxlan_core.c:2942 unregister_netdevice_many_notify+0x12d6/0x1f30 net/core/dev.c:11824 unregister_netdevice_many net/core/dev.c:11866 [inline] unregister_netdevice_queue+0x307/0x3f0 net/core/dev.c:11736 register_netdevice+0x1829/0x1eb0 net/core/dev.c:10901 __vxlan_dev_create+0x7c6/0xa30 drivers/net/vxlan/vxlan_core.c:3981 vxlan_newlink+0xd1/0x130 drivers/net/vxlan/vxlan_core.c:4407 rtnl_newlink_create net/core/rtnetlink.c:3795 [inline] __rtnl_newlink net/core/rtnetlink.c:3906 [inline]
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
Weakness type
CWE-476CVE-2025-21790 is a NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability
What is NULL Pointer Dereference?
The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL, typically causing a crash. Learn more on MITRE CWE
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
5.18
and later are affected. Fixed in
6.1.129,
6.6.79,
6.12.16,
6.13.4,
6.14
and their respective stable series.
References
The following references provide additional information about CVE-2025-21790 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/3215f5aafc49aaa993991633833854694e73b439
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5805402dcc56241987bca674a1b4da79a249bab7
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/79aea5e55156c87dc570e43fcd8bba01b9d6ab3f
Frequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2025-21790?
CVE-2025-21790 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 , classified as a NULL Pointer Dereference flaw (CWE-476) . It affects Linux kernel versions from 5.18 onward and has been patched in 6.1.129, 6.6.79, 6.12.16 and others. CVE-2025-21790 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-2025-21790?
CVE-2025-21790 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-2025-21790?
Yes — CVE-2025-21790 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.1.129, 6.6.79, 6.12.16 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 5.18 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2025-21790 actively exploited?
No — CVE-2025-21790 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.
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What is NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476)?
The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL, typically causing a crash. View CWE-476 on MITRE CWE →