5.5
MEDIUM
CVE-2025-21853
Linux Kernel BPF Map Freeze Mutex Deadlock Vulnerability
Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: avoid holding freeze_mutex during mmap operation We use map->freeze_mutex to prevent races between map_freeze() and memory mapping BPF map contents with writable permissions. The way we naively do this means we'll hold freeze_mutex for entire duration of all the mm and VMA manipulations, which is completely unnecessary. This can potentially also lead to deadlocks, as reported by syzbot in [0]. So, instead, hold freeze_mutex only during writeability checks, bump (proactively) "write active" count for the map, unlock the mutex and proceed with mmap logic. And only if something went wrong during mmap logic, then undo that "write active" counter increment. [0] https://lore.kernel.org/bpf/[email protected]/

INFO

Published Date :

March 12, 2025, 10:15 a.m.

Last Modified :

March 13, 2025, 4:30 p.m.

Source :

416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Remotely Exploitable :

No

Impact Score :

3.6

Exploitability Score :

1.8
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2025-21853 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 Linux linux_kernel
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2025-21853 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2025-21853 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • Initial Analysis by [email protected]

    Mar. 13, 2025

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added CVSS V3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
    Added CWE NVD-CWE-noinfo
    Added CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.14:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.14:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.14:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 6.13 from (excluding) 6.13.5 *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 6.7 from (excluding) 6.12.17 *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 5.5 from (excluding) 6.6.80
    Added Reference Type kernel.org: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/271e49f8a58edba65bc2b1250a0abaa98c4bfdbe Types: Patch
    Added Reference Type kernel.org: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/29cfda62ab4d92ab94123813db49ab76c1e61b29 Types: Patch
    Added Reference Type kernel.org: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bc27c52eea189e8f7492d40739b7746d67b65beb Types: Patch
    Added Reference Type kernel.org: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d95607a5f2f9bb08194c9deaf4a5f3e8ba59a9d4 Types: Patch
  • New CVE Received by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

    Mar. 12, 2025

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: avoid holding freeze_mutex during mmap operation We use map->freeze_mutex to prevent races between map_freeze() and memory mapping BPF map contents with writable permissions. The way we naively do this means we'll hold freeze_mutex for entire duration of all the mm and VMA manipulations, which is completely unnecessary. This can potentially also lead to deadlocks, as reported by syzbot in [0]. So, instead, hold freeze_mutex only during writeability checks, bump (proactively) "write active" count for the map, unlock the mutex and proceed with mmap logic. And only if something went wrong during mmap logic, then undo that "write active" counter increment. [0] https://lore.kernel.org/bpf/[email protected]/
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/271e49f8a58edba65bc2b1250a0abaa98c4bfdbe
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/29cfda62ab4d92ab94123813db49ab76c1e61b29
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bc27c52eea189e8f7492d40739b7746d67b65beb
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d95607a5f2f9bb08194c9deaf4a5f3e8ba59a9d4
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2025-21853 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2025-21853 weaknesses.

CVSS31 - Vulnerability Scoring System
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