Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-21845

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-03-12

Fix available

A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.12.17 / 6.13.5 or later.

See remediation →

57/100

Remediation priority · Elevated

Zero-click Patch available

Official description

NVD · unedited

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mtd: spi-nor: sst: Fix SST write failure 'commit 18bcb4aa54ea ("mtd: spi-nor: sst: Factor out common write operation to `sst_nor_write_data()`")' introduced a bug where only one byte of data is written, regardless of the number of bytes passed to sst_nor_write_data(), causing a kernel crash during the write operation. Ensure the correct number of bytes are written as passed to sst_nor_write_data(). Call trace: [ 57.400180] ------------[ cut here ]------------ [ 57.404842] While writing 2 byte written 1 bytes [ 57.409493] WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 737 at drivers/mtd/spi-nor/sst.c:187 sst_nor_write_data+0x6c/0x74 [ 57.418464] Modules linked in: [ 57.421517] CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 737 Comm: mtd_debug Not tainted 6.12.0-g5ad04afd91f9 #30 [ 57.429517] Hardware name: Xilinx Versal A2197 Processor board revA - x-prc-02 revA (DT) [ 57.437600] pstate: 60000005 (nZCv daif -PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) [ 57.444557] pc : sst_nor_write_data+0x6c/0x74 [ 57.448911] lr : sst_nor_write_data+0x6c/0x74 [ 57.453264] sp : ffff80008232bb40 [ 57.456570] x29: ffff80008232bb40 x28: 0000000000010000 x27: 0000000000000001 [ 57.463708] x26: 000000000000ffff x25: 0000000000000000 x24: 0000000000000000 [ 57.470843] x23: 0000000000010000 x22: ffff80008232bbf0 x21: ffff000816230000 [ 57.477978] x20: ffff0008056c0080 x19: 0000000000000002 x18: 0000000000000006 [ 57.485112] x17: 0000000000000000 x16: 0000000000000000 x15: ffff80008232b580 [ 57.492246] x14: 0000000000000000 x13: ffff8000816d1530 x12: 00000000000004a4 [ 57.499380] x11: 000000000000018c x10: ffff8000816fd530 x9 : ffff8000816d1530 [ 57.506515] x8 : 00000000fffff7ff x7 : ffff8000816fd530 x6 : 0000000000000001 [ 57.513649] x5 : 0000000000000000 x4 : 0000000000000000 x3 : 0000000000000000 [ 57.520782] x2 : 0000000000000000 x1 : 0000000000000000 x0 : ffff0008049b0000 [ 57.527916] Call trace: [ 57.530354] sst_nor_write_data+0x6c/0x74 [ 57.534361] sst_nor_write+0xb4/0x18c [ 57.538019] mtd_write_oob_std+0x7c/0x88 [ 57.541941] mtd_write_oob+0x70/0xbc [ 57.545511] mtd_write+0x68/0xa8 [ 57.548733] mtdchar_write+0x10c/0x290 [ 57.552477] vfs_write+0xb4/0x3a8 [ 57.555791] ksys_write+0x74/0x10c [ 57.559189] __arm64_sys_write+0x1c/0x28 [ 57.563109] invoke_syscall+0x54/0x11c [ 57.566856] el0_svc_common.constprop.0+0xc0/0xe0 [ 57.571557] do_el0_svc+0x1c/0x28 [ 57.574868] el0_svc+0x30/0xcc [ 57.577921] el0t_64_sync_handler+0x120/0x12c [ 57.582276] el0t_64_sync+0x190/0x194 [ 57.585933] ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- [[email protected]: add Cc stable tag]

Technical summary

dbcve analysis

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

Affected products & versions

NVD · CPE data

Linux KernelOperating system

Affected:>= 6.12, < 6.12.17>= 6.13, < 6.13.5= 6.14

CVSS breakdown

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

dbcve · scoped

Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.12.17 / 6.13.5 or later

Fixed in 6.12.176.13.5

Vendor patch git.kernel.org →

Recommended fix High confidence

6.12.17, 6.13.5, or 6.14.1 (or later stable releases)

Upgrade Linux kernel to version 6.12.17 or later for the 6.12.y stable branch
Alternatively, upgrade to version 6.13.5 or later for the 6.13.y stable branch
Alternatively, upgrade to version 6.14.1 or later for the 6.14.y stable branch
Alternatively, apply the vendor patch commit 539bd20352832b9244238a055eb169ccf1c41ff6 to the affected kernel source
Rebuild and deploy the new kernel
Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel

Caveat Standard kernel upgrade considerations apply - ensure driver compatibility with deployed hardware and review any API changes in subsystems that depend on mtd/spi-nor

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

Scan for this in your stack

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References

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-21845 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2025-21845?

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

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here

Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data

At a glance

A fix existsUpgrade to 6.12.17 / 6.13.5 or later

Severity 5.5 Medium

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 0.3%

Affects: Linux Kernel

Remediation

Need this fixed?

Get a fix

Estimated effortfrom ~9 hrs

ComplexityModerate

Typical engagementfrom $1,600

What a fix involves

We scope it with you and confirm a fixed quote
A specialist builds a reviewed fix
You deploy it to staging first
Optional re-test once it’s live

We specialise in CVE remediation. Send your environment and we’ll scope CVE-2025-21845 and return a fixed quote.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Scan for this in your stack

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

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Remediation

References