5.5
MEDIUM
CVE-2025-21854
"Vulnerability in Linux Kernel Sockmap and Vsock Allows Null Pointer Derefrence"
Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sockmap, vsock: For connectible sockets allow only connected sockmap expects all vsocks to have a transport assigned, which is expressed in vsock_proto::psock_update_sk_prot(). However, there is an edge case where an unconnected (connectible) socket may lose its previously assigned transport. This is handled with a NULL check in the vsock/BPF recv path. Another design detail is that listening vsocks are not supposed to have any transport assigned at all. Which implies they are not supported by the sockmap. But this is complicated by the fact that a socket, before switching to TCP_LISTEN, may have had some transport assigned during a failed connect() attempt. Hence, we may end up with a listening vsock in a sockmap, which blows up quickly: KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000120-0x0000000000000127] CPU: 7 UID: 0 PID: 56 Comm: kworker/7:0 Not tainted 6.14.0-rc1+ Workqueue: vsock-loopback vsock_loopback_work RIP: 0010:vsock_read_skb+0x4b/0x90 Call Trace: sk_psock_verdict_data_ready+0xa4/0x2e0 virtio_transport_recv_pkt+0x1ca8/0x2acc vsock_loopback_work+0x27d/0x3f0 process_one_work+0x846/0x1420 worker_thread+0x5b3/0xf80 kthread+0x35a/0x700 ret_from_fork+0x2d/0x70 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 For connectible sockets, instead of relying solely on the state of vsk->transport, tell sockmap to only allow those representing established connections. This aligns with the behaviour for AF_INET and AF_UNIX.

INFO

Published Date :

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

Last Modified :

March 13, 2025, 9:18 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-2025-21854 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-2025-21854 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2025-21854 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 CWE-476
    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) 6.4 from (excluding) 6.6.80
    Added Reference Type kernel.org: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/22b683217ad2112791a708693cb236507abd637a Types: Patch
    Added Reference Type kernel.org: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8fb5bb169d17cdd12c2dcc2e96830ed487d77a0f Types: Patch
    Added Reference Type kernel.org: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cc9a7832ede53ade1ba9991f0e27314caa4029d8 Types: Patch
    Added Reference Type kernel.org: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f7b473e35986835cc2813fef7b9d40336a09247e 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: sockmap, vsock: For connectible sockets allow only connected sockmap expects all vsocks to have a transport assigned, which is expressed in vsock_proto::psock_update_sk_prot(). However, there is an edge case where an unconnected (connectible) socket may lose its previously assigned transport. This is handled with a NULL check in the vsock/BPF recv path. Another design detail is that listening vsocks are not supposed to have any transport assigned at all. Which implies they are not supported by the sockmap. But this is complicated by the fact that a socket, before switching to TCP_LISTEN, may have had some transport assigned during a failed connect() attempt. Hence, we may end up with a listening vsock in a sockmap, which blows up quickly: KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000120-0x0000000000000127] CPU: 7 UID: 0 PID: 56 Comm: kworker/7:0 Not tainted 6.14.0-rc1+ Workqueue: vsock-loopback vsock_loopback_work RIP: 0010:vsock_read_skb+0x4b/0x90 Call Trace: sk_psock_verdict_data_ready+0xa4/0x2e0 virtio_transport_recv_pkt+0x1ca8/0x2acc vsock_loopback_work+0x27d/0x3f0 process_one_work+0x846/0x1420 worker_thread+0x5b3/0xf80 kthread+0x35a/0x700 ret_from_fork+0x2d/0x70 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 For connectible sockets, instead of relying solely on the state of vsk->transport, tell sockmap to only allow those representing established connections. This aligns with the behaviour for AF_INET and AF_UNIX.
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/22b683217ad2112791a708693cb236507abd637a
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8fb5bb169d17cdd12c2dcc2e96830ed487d77a0f
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cc9a7832ede53ade1ba9991f0e27314caa4029d8
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f7b473e35986835cc2813fef7b9d40336a09247e
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-2025-21854 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-2025-21854 weaknesses.

CVSS31 - Vulnerability Scoring System
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