// For flags

CVE-2025-21922

ppp: Fix KMSAN uninit-value warning with bpf

Severity Score

5.5
*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: ppp: Fix KMSAN uninit-value warning with bpf Syzbot caught an "KMSAN: uninit-value" warning [1], which is caused by the
ppp driver not initializing a 2-byte header when using socket filter. The following code can generate a PPP filter BPF program:
'''
struct bpf_program fp;
pcap_t *handle;
handle = pcap_open_dead(DLT_PPP_PPPD, 65535);
pcap_compile(handle, &fp, "ip and outbound", 0, 0);
bpf_dump(&fp, 1);
'''
Its output is:
'''
(000) ldh [2]
(001) jeq #0x21 jt 2 jf 5
(002) ldb [0]
(003) jeq #0x1 jt 4 jf 5
(004) ret #65535
(005) ret #0
'''
Wen can find similar code at the following link:
https://github.com/ppp-project/ppp/blob/master/pppd/options.c#L1680
The maintainer of this code repository is also the original maintainer
of the ppp driver. As you can see the BPF program skips 2 bytes of data and then reads the
'Protocol' field to determine if it's an IP packet. Then it read the first
byte of the first 2 bytes to determine the direction. The issue is that only the first byte indicating direction is initialized
in current ppp driver code while the second byte is not initialized. For normal BPF programs generated by libpcap, uninitialized data won't be
used, so it's not a problem. However, for carefully crafted BPF programs,
such as those generated by syzkaller [2], which start reading from offset
0, the uninitialized data will be used and caught by KMSAN. [1] https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=853242d9c9917165d791
[2] https://syzkaller.appspot.com/text?tag=ReproC&x=11994913980000

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ppp: Fix KMSAN uninit-value warning with bpf Syzbot caught an "KMSAN: uninit-value" warning [1], which is caused by the ppp driver not initializing a 2-byte header when using socket filter. The following code can generate a PPP filter BPF program: ''' struct bpf_program fp; pcap_t *handle; handle = pcap_open_dead(DLT_PPP_PPPD, 65535); pcap_compile(handle, &fp, "ip and outbound", 0, 0); bpf_dump(&fp, 1); ''' Its output is: ''' (000) ldh [2] (001) jeq #0x21 jt 2 jf 5 (002) ldb [0] (003) jeq #0x1 jt 4 jf 5 (004) ret #65535 (005) ret #0 ''' Wen can find similar code at the following link: https://github.com/ppp-project/ppp/blob/master/pppd/options.c#L1680 The maintainer of this code repository is also the original maintainer of the ppp driver. As you can see the BPF program skips 2 bytes of data and then reads the 'Protocol' field to determine if it's an IP packet. Then it read the first byte of the first 2 bytes to determine the direction. The issue is that only the first byte indicating direction is initialized in current ppp driver code while the second byte is not initialized. For normal BPF programs generated by libpcap, uninitialized data won't be used, so it's not a problem. However, for carefully crafted BPF programs, such as those generated by syzkaller [2], which start reading from offset 0, the uninitialized data will be used and caught by KMSAN. [1] https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=853242d9c9917165d791 [2] https://syzkaller.appspot.com/text?tag=ReproC&x=11994913980000

Several vulnerabilities have been discovered in the Linux kernel that may lead to a privilege escalation, denial of service or information leaks.

*Credits: N/A
CVSS Scores
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Authentication
Single
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
  • 2025-04-01 CVE Published
  • 2025-05-03 EPSS Updated
  • 2025-05-04 CVE 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"
>= 2.6.12 < 5.4.291
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 2.6.12 < 5.4.291"
en
Affected
Linux
Search vendor "Linux"
Linux Kernel
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"
>= 2.6.12 < 5.10.235
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 2.6.12 < 5.10.235"
en
Affected
Linux
Search vendor "Linux"
Linux Kernel
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"
>= 2.6.12 < 5.15.179
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 2.6.12 < 5.15.179"
en
Affected
Linux
Search vendor "Linux"
Linux Kernel
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"
>= 2.6.12 < 6.1.131
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 2.6.12 < 6.1.131"
en
Affected
Linux
Search vendor "Linux"
Linux Kernel
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"
>= 2.6.12 < 6.6.83
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 2.6.12 < 6.6.83"
en
Affected
Linux
Search vendor "Linux"
Linux Kernel
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"
>= 2.6.12 < 6.12.19
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 2.6.12 < 6.12.19"
en
Affected
Linux
Search vendor "Linux"
Linux Kernel
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"
>= 2.6.12 < 6.13.7
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 2.6.12 < 6.13.7"
en
Affected
Linux
Search vendor "Linux"
Linux Kernel
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"
>= 2.6.12 < 6.14
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 2.6.12 < 6.14"
en
Affected