What is CVE-2025-21988?

CVE-2025-21988 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, affecting Linux kernel versions from 6.12 onward and patched in 6.12.20, 6.13.8 and 6.14. CVE-2025-21988 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-21988?

CVE-2025-21988 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity. 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-2025-21988?

Yes, CVE-2025-21988 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.12.20, 6.13.8 and 6.14. If you are running Linux kernel 6.12 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2025-21988 actively exploited?

CVE-2025-21988 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

CVE-2025-21988

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs/netfs/read_collect: add to next->prev_donated If multiple subrequests donate data to the same "next" request (depending on the subrequest completion order), each of them would overwrite the `prev_donated` field, causing data corruption and a BUG() crash ("Can't donate prior to front").

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2025-04-02

Last modified 2025-11-04

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

5.5

out of 10

Medium

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

None

Availability

High

Vector string

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 6.12 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.12.20, 6.13.8, 6.14 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 6.12

Fixed in

✓ 6.12.20 6.12.x ✓ 6.13.8 6.13.x ✓ 6.14

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2025-21988 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/62b9ad7e52d4777f7e775ee1f0ad2452f6041024
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e25cec3b76aba47a49138d2162fc809c6cd49c9e
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e2d46f2ec332533816417b60933954173f602121
Patch

Details

CVE ID CVE-2025-21988

Severity Medium

CVSS score 5.5 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2025-04-02

Modified 2025-11-04

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-21988?

CVE-2025-21988 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.12 onward and has been patched in 6.12.20, 6.13.8 and 6.14. CVE-2025-21988 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-21988?

CVE-2025-21988 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-2025-21988?

Yes — CVE-2025-21988 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.12.20, 6.13.8 and 6.14. If you are running Linux kernel 6.12 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2025-21988 actively exploited?

No — CVE-2025-21988 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.