CVE-2025-13350
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedUbuntu Linux 6.8 GA retains the legacy AF_UNIX garbage collector but backports upstream commit 8594d9b85c07 ("af_unix: Don’t call skb_get() for OOB skb"). When orphaned MSG_OOB sockets hit unix_gc(), the garbage collector still calls kfree_skb() as if OOB SKBs held two references; on Ubuntu Linux 6.8 (Noble Numbat) kernel tree, they have only the queue reference, so the buffer is freed while still reachable and subsequent queue walks dereference freed memory, yielding a reliable local privilege escalation (LPE) caused by a use-after-free (UAF). Ubuntu builds that have already taken the new GC stack from commit 4090fa373f0e, and mainline Linux kernels shipping that infrastructure are unaffected because they no longer execute the legacy collector path. This issue affects Ubuntu Linux from 6.8.0-56.58 before 6.8.0-84.84.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceUse-after-free vulnerability in Ubuntu Linux 6.8's AF_UNIX garbage collector where the legacy GC calls kfree_skb() on orphaned MSG_OOB sockets as if they hold two references, when they actually only hold one. This causes premature buffer freeing while still reachable, leading to UAF during subsequent queue walks and enabling local privilege escalation.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- Authentication
- X
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- X
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:L/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm Ubuntu Linux distributionRun `lsb_release -a` or check `/etc/os-release` to verify the OS is UbuntuAffected if The system is not Ubuntu Linux (this CVE only affects Ubuntu)
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Check kernel versionRun `uname -r` to get the running kernel versionAffected if Kernel version is 6.8.x but earlier than 6.8.0-84.84 (or if version cannot be determined but appears to be in the 6.8 release series)
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Verify AF_UNIX socket supportCheck that AF_UNIX sockets are available by confirming CONFIG_UNIX in kernel config: `zcat /proc/config.gz 2>/dev/null | grep CONFIG_UNIX || grep -i unix /boot/config-$(uname -r) 2>/dev/null`Affected if AF_UNIX is enabled and the kernel version is in the vulnerable 6.8 range before 6.8.0-84.84
The environment is affected if running Ubuntu Linux with a 6.8 series kernel earlier than 6.8.0-84.84 and AF_UNIX socket support is enabled.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade Ubuntu Linux kernel to version 6.8.0-84.84 or later. Systems with the new GC stack from commit 4090fa373f0e are unaffected.
Ubuntu Linux 6.8.0-84.84 or later (Noble Numbat kernel)
- Check current kernel version: uname -r
- Update package lists: sudo apt update
- Upgrade to latest kernel: sudo apt upgrade linux-image-generic
- Reboot the system: sudo reboot
- Verify the new kernel version after reboot: uname -r (should be 6.8.0-84.84 or later)
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,160.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-13350 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-13350 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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