// For flags

CVE-2025-21864

tcp: drop secpath at the same time as we currently drop dst

Severity Score

7.1
*CVSS v3

Exploit Likelihood

*EPSS

Affected Versions

*CPE

Public Exploits

0
*Multiple Sources

Exploited in Wild

-
*KEV

Decision

-
*SSVC
Descriptions

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tcp: drop secpath at the same time as we currently drop dst Xiumei reported hitting the WARN in xfrm6_tunnel_net_exit while
running tests that boil down to: - create a pair of netns - run a basic TCP test over ipcomp6 - delete the pair of netns The xfrm_state found on spi_byaddr was not deleted at the time we
delete the netns, because we still have a reference on it. This
lingering reference comes from a secpath (which holds a ref on the
xfrm_state), which is still attached to an skb. This skb is not
leaked, it ends up on sk_receive_queue and then gets defer-free'd by
skb_attempt_defer_free. The problem happens when we defer freeing an skb (push it on one CPU's
defer_list), and don't flush that list before the netns is deleted. In
that case, we still have a reference on the xfrm_state that we don't
expect at this point. We already drop the skb's dst in the TCP receive path when it's no
longer needed, so let's also drop the secpath. At this point,
tcp_filter has already called into the LSM hooks that may require the
secpath, so it should not be needed anymore. However, in some of those
places, the MPTCP extension has just been attached to the skb, so we
cannot simply drop all extensions.

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tcp: drop secpath at the same time as we currently drop dst Xiumei reported hitting the WARN in xfrm6_tunnel_net_exit while running tests that boil down to: - create a pair of netns - run a basic TCP test over ipcomp6 - delete the pair of netns The xfrm_state found on spi_byaddr was not deleted at the time we delete the netns, because we still have a reference on it. This lingering reference comes from a secpath (which holds a ref on the xfrm_state), which is still attached to an skb. This skb is not leaked, it ends up on sk_receive_queue and then gets defer-free'd by skb_attempt_defer_free. The problem happens when we defer freeing an skb (push it on one CPU's defer_list), and don't flush that list before the netns is deleted. In that case, we still have a reference on the xfrm_state that we don't expect at this point. We already drop the skb's dst in the TCP receive path when it's no longer needed, so let's also drop the secpath. At this point, tcp_filter has already called into the LSM hooks that may require the secpath, so it should not be needed anymore. However, in some of those places, the MPTCP extension has just been attached to the skb, so we cannot simply drop all extensions.

*Credits: N/A
CVSS Scores
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Complete
* Common Vulnerability Scoring System
SSVC
  • Decision:-
Exploitation
-
Automatable
-
Tech. Impact
-
* Organization's Worst-case Scenario
Timeline
  • 2024-12-29 CVE Reserved
  • 2025-03-12 CVE Published
  • 2025-03-12 CVE Updated
  • ---------- EPSS Updated
  • ---------- Exploited in Wild
  • ---------- KEV Due Date
  • ---------- First Exploit
CWE
CAPEC
Affected Vendors, Products, and Versions
Vendor Product Version Other Status
Vendor Product Version Other Status <-- --> Vendor Product Version Other Status
Linux
Search vendor "Linux"
Linux Kernel
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"
>= 5.19 < 6.1.130
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 5.19 < 6.1.130"
en
Affected
Linux
Search vendor "Linux"
Linux Kernel
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"
>= 5.19 < 6.6.80
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 5.19 < 6.6.80"
en
Affected
Linux
Search vendor "Linux"
Linux Kernel
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"
>= 5.19 < 6.12.17
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 5.19 < 6.12.17"
en
Affected
Linux
Search vendor "Linux"
Linux Kernel
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"
>= 5.19 < 6.13.5
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 5.19 < 6.13.5"
en
Affected
Linux
Search vendor "Linux"
Linux Kernel
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"
>= 5.19 < 6.14-rc4
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 5.19 < 6.14-rc4"
en
Affected