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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-21861

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 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: mm/migrate_device: don't add folio to be freed to LRU in migrate_device_finalize() If migration succeeded, we called folio_migrate_flags()->mem_cgroup_migrate() to migrate the memcg from the old to the new folio. This will set memcg_data of the old folio to 0. Similarly, if migration failed, memcg_data of the dst folio is left unset. If we call folio_putback_lru() on such folios (memcg_data == 0), we will add the folio to be freed to the LRU, making memcg code unhappy. Running the hmm selftests: # ./hmm-tests ... # RUN hmm.hmm_device_private.migrate ... [ 102.078007][T14893] page: refcount:1 mapcount:0 mapping:0000000000000000 index:0x7ff27d200 pfn:0x13cc00 [ 102.079974][T14893] anon flags: 0x17ff00000020018(uptodate|dirty|swapbacked|node=0|zone=2|lastcpupid=0x7ff) [ 102.082037][T14893] raw: 017ff00000020018 dead000000000100 dead000000000122 ffff8881353896c9 [ 102.083687][T14893] raw: 00000007ff27d200 0000000000000000 00000001ffffffff 0000000000000000 [ 102.085331][T14893] page dumped because: VM_WARN_ON_ONCE_FOLIO(!memcg && !mem_cgroup_disabled()) [ 102.087230][T14893] ------------[ cut here ]------------ [ 102.088279][T14893] WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 14893 at ./include/linux/memcontrol.h:726 folio_lruvec_lock_irqsave+0x10e/0x170 [ 102.090478][T14893] Modules linked in: [ 102.091244][T14893] CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 14893 Comm: hmm-tests Not tainted 6.13.0-09623-g6c216bc522fd #151 [ 102.093089][T14893] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.3-2.fc40 04/01/2014 [ 102.094848][T14893] RIP: 0010:folio_lruvec_lock_irqsave+0x10e/0x170 [ 102.096104][T14893] Code: ... [ 102.099908][T14893] RSP: 0018:ffffc900236c37b0 EFLAGS: 00010293 [ 102.101152][T14893] RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffffea0004f30000 RCX: ffffffff8183f426 [ 102.102684][T14893] RDX: ffff8881063cb880 RSI: ffffffff81b8117f RDI: ffff8881063cb880 [ 102.104227][T14893] RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: 0000000000000005 R09: 0000000000000000 [ 102.105757][T14893] R10: 0000000000000001 R11: 0000000000000002 R12: ffffc900236c37d8 [ 102.107296][T14893] R13: ffff888277a2bcb0 R14: 000000000000001f R15: 0000000000000000 [ 102.108830][T14893] FS: 00007ff27dbdd740(0000) GS:ffff888277a00000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 [ 102.110643][T14893] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 [ 102.111924][T14893] CR2: 00007ff27d400000 CR3: 000000010866e000 CR4: 0000000000750ef0 [ 102.113478][T14893] PKRU: 55555554 [ 102.114172][T14893] Call Trace: [ 102.114805][T14893] <TASK> [ 102.115397][T14893] ? folio_lruvec_lock_irqsave+0x10e/0x170 [ 102.116547][T14893] ? __warn.cold+0x110/0x210 [ 102.117461][T14893] ? folio_lruvec_lock_irqsave+0x10e/0x170 [ 102.118667][T14893] ? report_bug+0x1b9/0x320 [ 102.119571][T14893] ? handle_bug+0x54/0x90 [ 102.120494][T14893] ? exc_invalid_op+0x17/0x50 [ 102.121433][T14893] ? asm_exc_invalid_op+0x1a/0x20 [ 102.122435][T14893] ? __wake_up_klogd.part.0+0x76/0xd0 [ 102.123506][T14893] ? dump_page+0x4f/0x60 [ 102.124352][T14893] ? folio_lruvec_lock_irqsave+0x10e/0x170 [ 102.125500][T14893] folio_batch_move_lru+0xd4/0x200 [ 102.126577][T14893] ? __pfx_lru_add+0x10/0x10 [ 102.127505][T14893] __folio_batch_add_and_move+0x391/0x720 [ 102.128633][T14893] ? __pfx_lru_add+0x10/0x10 [ 102.129550][T14893] folio_putback_lru+0x16/0x80 [ 102.130564][T14893] migrate_device_finalize+0x9b/0x530 [ 102.131640][T14893] dmirror_migrate_to_device.constprop.0+0x7c5/0xad0 [ 102.133047][T14893] dmirror_fops_unlocked_ioctl+0x89b/0xc80 Likely, nothing else goes wrong: putting the last folio reference will remove the folio from the LRU again. So besides memcg complaining, adding the folio to be freed to the LRU is just an unnecessary step. The new flow resembles what we have in migrate_folio_move(): add the dst to the lru, rem ---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-416

Memory is used after it has been freed, so its contents — now potentially attacker-controlled — drive the program's behaviour. With careful heap grooming this becomes code execution. The fix requires disciplined ownership of memory and often a targeted rework of the object lifecycle.

General guidance for the use after free 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:>= 4.14, < 6.12.17>= 6.13, < 6.13.5= 6.14

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 6.12.17 / 6.13.5 or later
Fixed in 6.12.176.13.5
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

6.12.17 (for 6.12.y branch), 6.13.5 (for 6.13.y branch), or 6.14.1+ (for 6.14.y branch)

  1. Identify the currently running Linux kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Check if your current version is one of the affected versions: < 6.12.17, >= 6.13 but < 6.13.5, or 6.14
  3. If affected, schedule a maintenance window for kernel upgrade
  4. Backup critical data before performing the upgrade
  5. Update the system package manager and install a newer kernel version
  6. For RHEL/CentOS/Fedora: run `dnf update kernel` or `yum update kernel`
  7. For Debian/Ubuntu: run `apt-get update && apt-get install linux-image-<version>`
  8. For SUSE: run `zypper update kernel-default`
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require reboots and could have driver/module compatibility considerations; test in staging 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 $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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