CVE-2025-21647

HIGHCVSS 7.1/10EPSS 0.26%

Last modified

CVE-2025-21647 is a high-severity vulnerability rated 7.1/10 on the CVSS scale. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sched: sch_cake: add bounds checks to host bulk flow fairness counts Even though we fixed a logic error in the commit cited below, syzbot still managed to trigger an underflow of the per-host bulk flow counters, leading to an out of bounds memory access. To avoid any such logic errors causing out of bounds memory accesses, this commit factors out all accesses to the per-host bulk flow counters to a series of helpers that perform bounds-checking before any increments and decrements. This also has the benefit of improving readability by moving the conditional checks for the flow mode into these helpers, instead of having them spread out throughout the code (which was the cause of the original logic error). As part of this change, the flow quantum calculation is consolidated into a helper function, which means that the dithering applied to the ost load scaling is now applied both in the DRR rotation and when a sparse flow's quantum is first initiated. EPSS estimates a 0.26% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sched: sch_cake: add bounds checks to host bulk flow fairness counts Even though we fixed a logic error in the commit cited below, syzbot still managed to trigger an underflow of the per-host bulk flow counters, leading to an out of bounds memory access. To avoid any such logic errors causing out of bounds memory accesses, this commit factors out all accesses to the per-host bulk flow counters to a series of helpers that perform bounds-checking before any increments and decrements. This also has the benefit of improving readability by moving the conditional checks for the flow mode into these helpers, instead of having them spread out throughout the code (which was the cause of the original logic error). As part of this change, the flow quantum calculation is consolidated into a helper function, which means that the dithering applied to the ost load scaling is now applied both in the DRR rotation and when a sparse flow's quantum is first initiated. The only user-visible effect of this is that the maximum packet size that can be sent while a flow stays sparse will now vary with +/- one byte in some cases. This should not make a noticeable difference in practice, and thus it's not worth complicating the code to preserve the old behaviour.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1
7.1/10

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

EPSS Probability
0.26%

17.7th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

Affected Software

VendorProductVersionsUpdate
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 5.4.284, < 5.4.291
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 5.10.226, < 5.10.235
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 5.15.167, < 5.15.179
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 6.1.110, < 6.1.125
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 6.6.51, < 6.6.72
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 6.10.10, < 6.11
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 6.11.1, < 6.12.10
LinuxLinux Kernel6.11
LinuxLinux Kernel6.13Rc1

References

Timeline

Published
Last Modified
Status
Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-21647?
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sched: sch_cake: add bounds checks to host bulk flow fairness counts Even though we fixed a logic error in the commit cited below, syzbot still managed to trigger an underflow of the per-host bulk flow counters, leading to an out of bounds memory access. To avoid any such logic errors causing out of bounds memory accesses, this commit factors out all accesses to the per-host bulk flow counters to a series of helpers that perform bounds-checking before any increments and decrements. This also has the benefit of improving readability by moving the conditional checks for the flow mode into these helpers, instead of having them spread out throughout the code (which was the cause of the original logic error). As part of this change, the flow quantum calculation is consolidated into a helper function, which means that the dithering applied to the ost load scaling is now applied both in the DRR rotation and when a sparse flow's quantum is first initiated. The only user-visible effect of this is that the maximum packet size that can be sent while a flow stays sparse will now vary with +/- one byte in some cases. This should not make a noticeable difference in practice, and thus it's not worth complicating the code to preserve the old behaviour.
How severe is CVE-2025-21647?
CVE-2025-21647 has a CVSS score of 7.1/10 (HIGH severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.26% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2025-21647?
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-2025-21647?

Run a free Strix scan to check your systems for this vulnerability.

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Source: NVD / NIST