CVE-2025-21840

MEDIUMCVSS 5.5/10EPSS 0.19%

Last modified

CVE-2025-21840 is a medium-severity vulnerability rated 5.5/10 on the CVSS scale. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: thermal/netlink: Prevent userspace segmentation fault by adjusting UAPI header The intel-lpmd tool [1], which uses the THERMAL_GENL_ATTR_CPU_CAPABILITY attribute to receive HFI events from kernel space, encounters a segmentation fault after commit 1773572863c4 ("thermal: netlink: Add the commands and the events for the thresholds"). The issue arises because the THERMAL_GENL_ATTR_CPU_CAPABILITY raw value was changed while intel_lpmd still uses the old value. Although intel_lpmd can be updated to check the THERMAL_GENL_VERSION and use the appropriate THERMAL_GENL_ATTR_CPU_CAPABILITY value, the commit itself is questionable. The commit introduced a new element in the middle of enum thermal_genl_attr, which affects many existing attributes and introduces potential risks and unnecessary maintenance burdens for userspace thermal netlink event users. Solve the issue by moving the newly introduced THERMAL_GENL_ATTR_TZ_PREV_TEMP attribute to the end of the enum thermal_genl_attr. This ensures that all existing thermal generic netlink attributes remain unaffected. [ rjw: Subject edits ]. EPSS estimates a 0.19% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: thermal/netlink: Prevent userspace segmentation fault by adjusting UAPI header The intel-lpmd tool [1], which uses the THERMAL_GENL_ATTR_CPU_CAPABILITY attribute to receive HFI events from kernel space, encounters a segmentation fault after commit 1773572863c4 ("thermal: netlink: Add the commands and the events for the thresholds"). The issue arises because the THERMAL_GENL_ATTR_CPU_CAPABILITY raw value was changed while intel_lpmd still uses the old value. Although intel_lpmd can be updated to check the THERMAL_GENL_VERSION and use the appropriate THERMAL_GENL_ATTR_CPU_CAPABILITY value, the commit itself is questionable. The commit introduced a new element in the middle of enum thermal_genl_attr, which affects many existing attributes and introduces potential risks and unnecessary maintenance burdens for userspace thermal netlink event users. Solve the issue by moving the newly introduced THERMAL_GENL_ATTR_TZ_PREV_TEMP attribute to the end of the enum thermal_genl_attr. This ensures that all existing thermal generic netlink attributes remain unaffected. [ rjw: Subject edits ]

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
0.19%

9.0th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Affected Software

VendorProductVersionsUpdate
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 6.13, < 6.13.4
LinuxLinux Kernel6.14Rc1

References

Timeline

Published
Last Modified
Status
Analyzed

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-21840?
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: thermal/netlink: Prevent userspace segmentation fault by adjusting UAPI header The intel-lpmd tool [1], which uses the THERMAL_GENL_ATTR_CPU_CAPABILITY attribute to receive HFI events from kernel space, encounters a segmentation fault after commit 1773572863c4 ("thermal: netlink: Add the commands and the events for the thresholds"). The issue arises because the THERMAL_GENL_ATTR_CPU_CAPABILITY raw value was changed while intel_lpmd still uses the old value. Although intel_lpmd can be updated to check the THERMAL_GENL_VERSION and use the appropriate THERMAL_GENL_ATTR_CPU_CAPABILITY value, the commit itself is questionable. The commit introduced a new element in the middle of enum thermal_genl_attr, which affects many existing attributes and introduces potential risks and unnecessary maintenance burdens for userspace thermal netlink event users. Solve the issue by moving the newly introduced THERMAL_GENL_ATTR_TZ_PREV_TEMP attribute to the end of the enum thermal_genl_attr. This ensures that all existing thermal generic netlink attributes remain unaffected. [ rjw: Subject edits ]
How severe is CVE-2025-21840?
CVE-2025-21840 has a CVSS score of 5.5/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.19% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2025-21840?
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-2025-21840?

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Source: NVD / NIST