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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-21888

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-03-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.12.18 / 6.13.6 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: RDMA/mlx5: Fix a WARN during dereg_mr for DM type Memory regions (MR) of type DM (device memory) do not have an associated umem. In the __mlx5_ib_dereg_mr() -> mlx5_free_priv_descs() flow, the code incorrectly takes the wrong branch, attempting to call dma_unmap_single() on a DMA address that is not mapped. This results in a WARN [1], as shown below. The issue is resolved by properly accounting for the DM type and ensuring the correct branch is selected in mlx5_free_priv_descs(). [1] WARNING: CPU: 12 PID: 1346 at drivers/iommu/dma-iommu.c:1230 iommu_dma_unmap_page+0x79/0x90 Modules linked in: ip6table_mangle ip6table_nat ip6table_filter ip6_tables iptable_mangle xt_conntrack xt_MASQUERADE nf_conntrack_netlink nfnetlink xt_addrtype iptable_nat nf_nat br_netfilter rpcsec_gss_krb5 auth_rpcgss oid_registry ovelay rpcrdma rdma_ucm ib_iser libiscsi scsi_transport_iscsi ib_umad rdma_cm ib_ipoib iw_cm ib_cm mlx5_ib ib_uverbs ib_core fuse mlx5_core CPU: 12 UID: 0 PID: 1346 Comm: ibv_rc_pingpong Not tainted 6.12.0-rc7+ #1631 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS rel-1.13.0-0-gf21b5a4aeb02-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:iommu_dma_unmap_page+0x79/0x90 Code: 2b 49 3b 29 72 26 49 3b 69 08 73 20 4d 89 f0 44 89 e9 4c 89 e2 48 89 ee 48 89 df 5b 5d 41 5c 41 5d 41 5e 41 5f e9 07 b8 88 ff <0f> 0b 5b 5d 41 5c 41 5d 41 5e 41 5f c3 cc cc cc cc 66 0f 1f 44 00 RSP: 0018:ffffc90001913a10 EFLAGS: 00010246 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffff88810194b0a8 RCX: 0000000000000000 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: 0000000000000001 RBP: ffff88810194b0a8 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 0000000000000001 R11: 0000000000000000 R12: 0000000000000000 R13: 0000000000000001 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: 0000000000000000 FS: 00007f537abdd740(0000) GS:ffff88885fb00000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 00007f537aeb8000 CR3: 000000010c248001 CR4: 0000000000372eb0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: <TASK> ? __warn+0x84/0x190 ? iommu_dma_unmap_page+0x79/0x90 ? report_bug+0xf8/0x1c0 ? handle_bug+0x55/0x90 ? exc_invalid_op+0x13/0x60 ? asm_exc_invalid_op+0x16/0x20 ? iommu_dma_unmap_page+0x79/0x90 dma_unmap_page_attrs+0xe6/0x290 mlx5_free_priv_descs+0xb0/0xe0 [mlx5_ib] __mlx5_ib_dereg_mr+0x37e/0x520 [mlx5_ib] ? _raw_spin_unlock_irq+0x24/0x40 ? wait_for_completion+0xfe/0x130 ? rdma_restrack_put+0x63/0xe0 [ib_core] ib_dereg_mr_user+0x5f/0x120 [ib_core] ? lock_release+0xc6/0x280 destroy_hw_idr_uobject+0x1d/0x60 [ib_uverbs] uverbs_destroy_uobject+0x58/0x1d0 [ib_uverbs] uobj_destroy+0x3f/0x70 [ib_uverbs] ib_uverbs_cmd_verbs+0x3e4/0xbb0 [ib_uverbs] ? __pfx_uverbs_destroy_def_handler+0x10/0x10 [ib_uverbs] ? lock_acquire+0xc1/0x2f0 ? ib_uverbs_ioctl+0xcb/0x170 [ib_uverbs] ? ib_uverbs_ioctl+0x116/0x170 [ib_uverbs] ? lock_release+0xc6/0x280 ib_uverbs_ioctl+0xe7/0x170 [ib_uverbs] ? ib_uverbs_ioctl+0xcb/0x170 [ib_uverbs] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x1b0/0xa70 do_syscall_64+0x6b/0x140 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e RIP: 0033:0x7f537adaf17b Code: 0f 1e fa 48 8b 05 1d ad 0c 00 64 c7 00 26 00 00 00 48 c7 c0 ff ff ff ff c3 66 0f 1f 44 00 00 f3 0f 1e fa b8 10 00 00 00 0f 05 <48> 3d 01 f0 ff ff 73 01 c3 48 8b 0d ed ac 0c 00 f7 d8 64 89 01 48 RSP: 002b:00007ffff218f0b8 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000010 RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 00007ffff218f1d8 RCX: 00007f537adaf17b RDX: 00007ffff218f1c0 RSI: 00000000c0181b01 RDI: 0000000000000003 RBP: 00007ffff218f1a0 R08: 00007f537aa8d010 R09: 0000561ee2e4f270 R10: 00007f537aace3a8 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 00007ffff218f190 R13: 000000000000001c R14: 0000561ee2e4d7c0 R15: 00007ffff218f450 </TASK>

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:>= 5.13, < 6.12.18>= 6.13, < 6.13.6= 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 6.12.18 / 6.13.6 or later
Fixed in 6.12.186.13.6
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

6.12.18+, 6.13.6+, or 6.14.1+ depending on current branch

  1. Identify current kernel version using `uname -r` or `cat /proc/version`
  2. For kernels in the 6.12.x branch: upgrade to version 6.12.18 or later
  3. For kernels in the 6.13.x branch: upgrade to version 6.13.6 or later
  4. For kernels in the 6.14.x branch: upgrade to version 6.14.1 or later
  5. For kernels 5.13+ to 6.11.x: upgrade to the earliest available kernel >= 6.12.18 that is compatible with your system
  6. Use your distribution's standard kernel upgrade procedure (e.g., package manager for Debian/Ubuntu/RHEL, or compile from source for mainline)
  7. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require updating dependent modules or drivers; ensure compatibility with user-space RDMA tools (libmlx5, OFED) after upgrade

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

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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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