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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-21629

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-01-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.20 / 5.5 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

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 · unedited
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: reenable NETIF_F_IPV6_CSUM offload for BIG TCP packets The blamed commit disabled hardware offoad of IPv6 packets with extension headers on devices that advertise NETIF_F_IPV6_CSUM, based on the definition of that feature in skbuff.h: * * - %NETIF_F_IPV6_CSUM * - Driver (device) is only able to checksum plain * TCP or UDP packets over IPv6. These are specifically * unencapsulated packets of the form IPv6|TCP or * IPv6|UDP where the Next Header field in the IPv6 * header is either TCP or UDP. IPv6 extension headers * are not supported with this feature. This feature * cannot be set in features for a device with * NETIF_F_HW_CSUM also set. This feature is being * DEPRECATED (see below). The change causes skb_warn_bad_offload to fire for BIG TCP packets. [ 496.310233] WARNING: CPU: 13 PID: 23472 at net/core/dev.c:3129 skb_warn_bad_offload+0xc4/0xe0 [ 496.310297] ? skb_warn_bad_offload+0xc4/0xe0 [ 496.310300] skb_checksum_help+0x129/0x1f0 [ 496.310303] skb_csum_hwoffload_help+0x150/0x1b0 [ 496.310306] validate_xmit_skb+0x159/0x270 [ 496.310309] validate_xmit_skb_list+0x41/0x70 [ 496.310312] sch_direct_xmit+0x5c/0x250 [ 496.310317] __qdisc_run+0x388/0x620 BIG TCP introduced an IPV6_TLV_JUMBO IPv6 extension header to communicate packet length, as this is an IPv6 jumbogram. But, the feature is only enabled on devices that support BIG TCP TSO. The header is only present for PF_PACKET taps like tcpdump, and not transmitted by physical devices. For this specific case of extension headers that are not transmitted, return to the situation before the blamed commit and support hardware offload. ipv6_has_hopopt_jumbo() tests not only whether this header is present, but also that it is the only extension header before a terminal (L4) header.

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

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 4.19.323, < 4.20>= 5.4.285, < 5.5>= 5.10.229, < 5.11>= 5.15.171, < 5.16>= 6.1.116, < 6.1.124>= 6.6.60, < 6.6.70>= 6.11.7, < 6.12>= 6.12.1, < 6.12.9= 6.12= 6.13

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
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

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

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 4.20 / 5.5 / 5.11 or later
Fixed in 4.205.55.11
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel 4.20 or later (for 4.19.x), 5.5 or later (for 5.4.x), 5.11 or later (for 5.10.x), or 5.16 or later (for 5.15.x)

  1. Identify the exact kernel version running: `uname -r`
  2. Check if the running version is within the affected range: 4.19.323-4.19.x, 5.4.285-5.4.x, 5.10.229-5.10.x, or 5.15.171-5.15.x
  3. Obtain the vendor patch from the stable commit: 68e068cabd2c6c533ef934c2e5151609cf6ecc6d
  4. Apply the patch to the kernel source code and rebuild the kernel, or apply the patch via a distribution-specific kernel update mechanism
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could introduce compatibility issues with third-party kernel modules; ensure backup and test in non-production environment first

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $1,600. Get the upgrade done

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-21629 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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