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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-21720

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-02-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.6.76 / 6.12.13 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: xfrm: delete intermediate secpath entry in packet offload mode Packets handled by hardware have added secpath as a way to inform XFRM core code that this path was already handled. That secpath is not needed at all after policy is checked and it is removed later in the stack. However, in the case of IP forwarding is enabled (/proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward), that secpath is not removed and packets which already were handled are reentered to the driver TX path with xfrm_offload set. The following kernel panic is observed in mlx5 in such case: mlx5_core 0000:04:00.0 enp4s0f0np0: Link up mlx5_core 0000:04:00.1 enp4s0f1np1: Link up Initializing XFRM netlink socket IPsec XFRM device driver BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 #PF: supervisor instruction fetch in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0010) - not-present page PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: Oops: 0010 [#1] PREEMPT SMP CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/0 Not tainted 6.13.0-rc1-alex #3 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.13.0-1ubuntu1.1 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:0x0 Code: Unable to access opcode bytes at 0xffffffffffffffd6. RSP: 0018:ffffb87380003800 EFLAGS: 00010206 RAX: ffff8df004e02600 RBX: ffffb873800038d8 RCX: 00000000ffff98cf RDX: ffff8df00733e108 RSI: ffff8df00521fb80 RDI: ffff8df001661f00 RBP: ffffb87380003850 R08: ffff8df013980000 R09: 0000000000000010 R10: 0000000000000002 R11: 0000000000000002 R12: ffff8df001661f00 R13: ffff8df00521fb80 R14: ffff8df00733e108 R15: ffff8df011faf04e FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff8df46b800000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: ffffffffffffffd6 CR3: 0000000106384000 CR4: 0000000000350ef0 Call Trace: <IRQ> ? show_regs+0x63/0x70 ? __die_body+0x20/0x60 ? __die+0x2b/0x40 ? page_fault_oops+0x15c/0x550 ? do_user_addr_fault+0x3ed/0x870 ? exc_page_fault+0x7f/0x190 ? asm_exc_page_fault+0x27/0x30 mlx5e_ipsec_handle_tx_skb+0xe7/0x2f0 [mlx5_core] mlx5e_xmit+0x58e/0x1980 [mlx5_core] ? __fib_lookup+0x6a/0xb0 dev_hard_start_xmit+0x82/0x1d0 sch_direct_xmit+0xfe/0x390 __dev_queue_xmit+0x6d8/0xee0 ? __fib_lookup+0x6a/0xb0 ? internal_add_timer+0x48/0x70 ? mod_timer+0xe2/0x2b0 neigh_resolve_output+0x115/0x1b0 __neigh_update+0x26a/0xc50 neigh_update+0x14/0x20 arp_process+0x2cb/0x8e0 ? __napi_build_skb+0x5e/0x70 arp_rcv+0x11e/0x1c0 ? dev_gro_receive+0x574/0x820 __netif_receive_skb_list_core+0x1cf/0x1f0 netif_receive_skb_list_internal+0x183/0x2a0 napi_complete_done+0x76/0x1c0 mlx5e_napi_poll+0x234/0x7a0 [mlx5_core] __napi_poll+0x2d/0x1f0 net_rx_action+0x1a6/0x370 ? atomic_notifier_call_chain+0x3b/0x50 ? irq_int_handler+0x15/0x20 [mlx5_core] handle_softirqs+0xb9/0x2f0 ? handle_irq_event+0x44/0x60 irq_exit_rcu+0xdb/0x100 common_interrupt+0x98/0xc0 </IRQ> <TASK> asm_common_interrupt+0x27/0x40 RIP: 0010:pv_native_safe_halt+0xb/0x10 Code: 09 c3 66 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 66 90 0f 22 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 90 eb 07 0f 00 2d 7f e9 36 00 fb 40 00 83 ff 07 77 21 89 ff ff 24 fd 88 3d a1 bd 0f 21 f8 RSP: 0018:ffffffffbe603de8 EFLAGS: 00000202 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 0000000f92f46680 RDX: 0000000000000037 RSI: 00000000ffffffff RDI: 00000000000518d4 RBP: ffffffffbe603df0 R08: 000000cd42e4dffb R09: ffffffffbe603d70 R10: 0000004d80d62680 R11: 0000000000000001 R12: ffffffffbe60bf40 R13: 0000000000000000 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: ffffffffbe60aff8 ? default_idle+0x9/0x20 arch_cpu_idle+0x9/0x10 default_idle_call+0x29/0xf0 do_idle+0x1f2/0x240 cpu_startup_entry+0x2c/0x30 rest_init+0xe7/0x100 start_kernel+0x76b/0xb90 x86_64_start_reservations+0x18/0x30 x86_64_start_kernel+0xc0/0x110 ? setup_ghcb+0xe/0x130 common_startup_64+0x13e/0x141 </TASK> Modules linked in: esp4_offload esp4 xfrm_interface xfrm6_tunnel tunnel4 tunnel6 xfrm_user xfrm_algo binf ---truncated---

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-476

The code follows a pointer that is null, crashing the process. An attacker who can reliably trigger it turns the crash into a denial of service. The fix is checking for null before use and handling the failure path gracefully.

General guidance for the null pointer dereference 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:>= 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 6.6.76 / 6.12.13 / 6.13.2 or later
Fixed in 6.6.766.12.136.13.2
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel 6.6.76, 6.12.13, or 6.13.2 (depending on your current branch)

  1. Identify the current running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Determine which kernel branch the current version belongs to (6.2-6.6, 6.7-6.12, or 6.13)
  3. Upgrade the Linux kernel to the fixed version for the respective branch: 6.6.76, 6.12.13, or 6.13.2
  4. Reboot the system to load the new kernel
  5. Verify the kernel version after reboot using `uname -r` to confirm the fix is applied
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system downtime and could have compatibility implications with custom drivers or modules; ensure all third-party kernel modules are compatible with the target version

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 $2,850. 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

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Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-21720 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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