CVE-2025-21638

MEDIUMCVSS 5.5/10EPSS 0.22%

Last modified

CVE-2025-21638 is a medium-severity vulnerability rated 5.5/10 on the CVSS scale. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sctp: sysctl: auth_enable: avoid using current->nsproxy As mentioned in a previous commit of this series, using the 'net' structure via 'current' is not recommended for different reasons: - Inconsistency: getting info from the reader's/writer's netns vs only from the opener's netns. - current->nsproxy can be NULL in some cases, resulting in an 'Oops' (null-ptr-deref), e.g. when the current task is exiting, as spotted by syzbot [1] using acct(2). The 'net' structure can be obtained from the table->data using container_of(). Note that table->data could also be used directly, but that would increase the size of this fix, while 'sctp.ctl_sock' still needs to be retrieved from 'net' structure.. EPSS estimates a 0.22% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sctp: sysctl: auth_enable: avoid using current->nsproxy As mentioned in a previous commit of this series, using the 'net' structure via 'current' is not recommended for different reasons: - Inconsistency: getting info from the reader's/writer's netns vs only from the opener's netns. - current->nsproxy can be NULL in some cases, resulting in an 'Oops' (null-ptr-deref), e.g. when the current task is exiting, as spotted by syzbot [1] using acct(2). The 'net' structure can be obtained from the table->data using container_of(). Note that table->data could also be used directly, but that would increase the size of this fix, while 'sctp.ctl_sock' still needs to be retrieved from 'net' structure.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1
5.5/10

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

EPSS Probability
0.22%

12.9th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

Affected Software

VendorProductVersionsUpdate
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 3.10.41, < 3.11
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 3.12.20, < 3.13
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 3.14.5, < 5.4.290
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 5.5, < 5.10.234
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 5.11, < 5.15.177
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 5.16, < 6.1.125
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 6.2, < 6.6.72
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 6.7, < 6.12.10
LinuxLinux Kernel6.13Rc1

References

Timeline

Published
Last Modified
Status
Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-21638?
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sctp: sysctl: auth_enable: avoid using current->nsproxy As mentioned in a previous commit of this series, using the 'net' structure via 'current' is not recommended for different reasons: - Inconsistency: getting info from the reader's/writer's netns vs only from the opener's netns. - current->nsproxy can be NULL in some cases, resulting in an 'Oops' (null-ptr-deref), e.g. when the current task is exiting, as spotted by syzbot [1] using acct(2). The 'net' structure can be obtained from the table->data using container_of(). Note that table->data could also be used directly, but that would increase the size of this fix, while 'sctp.ctl_sock' still needs to be retrieved from 'net' structure.
How severe is CVE-2025-21638?
CVE-2025-21638 has a CVSS score of 5.5/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.22% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2025-21638?
Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

Are you affected by CVE-2025-21638?

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Source: NVD / NIST