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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-21716

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-02-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.1.129 / 6.6.76 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: vxlan: Fix uninit-value in vxlan_vnifilter_dump() KMSAN reported an uninit-value access in vxlan_vnifilter_dump() [1]. If the length of the netlink message payload is less than sizeof(struct tunnel_msg), vxlan_vnifilter_dump() accesses bytes beyond the message. This can lead to uninit-value access. Fix this by returning an error in such situations. [1] BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in vxlan_vnifilter_dump+0x328/0x920 drivers/net/vxlan/vxlan_vnifilter.c:422 vxlan_vnifilter_dump+0x328/0x920 drivers/net/vxlan/vxlan_vnifilter.c:422 rtnl_dumpit+0xd5/0x2f0 net/core/rtnetlink.c:6786 netlink_dump+0x93e/0x15f0 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2317 __netlink_dump_start+0x716/0xd60 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2432 netlink_dump_start include/linux/netlink.h:340 [inline] rtnetlink_dump_start net/core/rtnetlink.c:6815 [inline] rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x1256/0x14a0 net/core/rtnetlink.c:6882 netlink_rcv_skb+0x467/0x660 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2542 rtnetlink_rcv+0x35/0x40 net/core/rtnetlink.c:6944 netlink_unicast_kernel net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1321 [inline] netlink_unicast+0xed6/0x1290 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1347 netlink_sendmsg+0x1092/0x1230 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1891 sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:711 [inline] __sock_sendmsg+0x330/0x3d0 net/socket.c:726 ____sys_sendmsg+0x7f4/0xb50 net/socket.c:2583 ___sys_sendmsg+0x271/0x3b0 net/socket.c:2637 __sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2669 [inline] __do_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2674 [inline] __se_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2672 [inline] __x64_sys_sendmsg+0x211/0x3e0 net/socket.c:2672 x64_sys_call+0x3878/0x3d90 arch/x86/include/generated/asm/syscalls_64.h:47 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:52 [inline] do_syscall_64+0xd9/0x1d0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:83 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f Uninit was created at: slab_post_alloc_hook mm/slub.c:4110 [inline] slab_alloc_node mm/slub.c:4153 [inline] kmem_cache_alloc_node_noprof+0x800/0xe80 mm/slub.c:4205 kmalloc_reserve+0x13b/0x4b0 net/core/skbuff.c:587 __alloc_skb+0x347/0x7d0 net/core/skbuff.c:678 alloc_skb include/linux/skbuff.h:1323 [inline] netlink_alloc_large_skb+0xa5/0x280 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1196 netlink_sendmsg+0xac9/0x1230 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1866 sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:711 [inline] __sock_sendmsg+0x330/0x3d0 net/socket.c:726 ____sys_sendmsg+0x7f4/0xb50 net/socket.c:2583 ___sys_sendmsg+0x271/0x3b0 net/socket.c:2637 __sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2669 [inline] __do_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2674 [inline] __se_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2672 [inline] __x64_sys_sendmsg+0x211/0x3e0 net/socket.c:2672 x64_sys_call+0x3878/0x3d90 arch/x86/include/generated/asm/syscalls_64.h:47 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:52 [inline] do_syscall_64+0xd9/0x1d0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:83 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 30991 Comm: syz.4.10630 Not tainted 6.12.0-10694-gc44daa7e3c73 #29 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.16.3-3.fc41 04/01/2014

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
How this class of weakness works · CWE-908

Memory or a resource is used before it has been initialised, so its contents are whatever happened to be there — sometimes leaking earlier data, sometimes values an attacker can influence. Behaviour becomes unpredictable and occasionally exploitable. Remediation is initialising every resource before use and ensuring initialisation happens on all code paths.

General guidance for the use of uninitialized resource class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

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:>= 5.18, < 6.1.129>= 6.2, < 6.6.76>= 6.7, < 6.12.13>= 6.13, < 6.13.2

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 6.1.129 / 6.6.76 / 6.12.13 or later
Fixed in 6.1.1296.6.766.12.13
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel version 6.1.129+ (for 6.1.x), 6.6.76+ (for 6.6.x), 6.12.13+ (for 6.7-6.12.x), or 6.13.2+ (for 6.13.x) - or move to the latest stable branch

  1. 1. Identify the current running kernel version using 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version'
  2. 2. Determine which version branch the current kernel belongs to (e.g., 6.1.x, 6.6.x, 6.7.x, or 6.13.x)
  3. 3. For kernels in the 5.18 to 6.1.x range: upgrade to kernel version 6.1.129 or later
  4. 4. For kernels in the 6.2 to 6.6.x range: upgrade to kernel version 6.6.76 or later
  5. 5. For kernels in the 6.7 to 6.12.x range: upgrade to kernel version 6.12.13 or later
  6. 6. For kernels in the 6.13.x range: upgrade to kernel version 6.13.2 or later
  7. 7. Alternatively, upgrade to the latest stable kernel release (e.g., 6.13.x stable branch) which includes the fix
  8. 8. Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require updates to kernel modules or system configurations; ensure compatibility of custom drivers/modules with the new kernel version before upgrading

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-2025-21716 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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