Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2025-21919
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 · uneditedIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sched/fair: Fix potential memory corruption in child_cfs_rq_on_list child_cfs_rq_on_list attempts to convert a 'prev' pointer to a cfs_rq. This 'prev' pointer can originate from struct rq's leaf_cfs_rq_list, making the conversion invalid and potentially leading to memory corruption. Depending on the relative positions of leaf_cfs_rq_list and the task group (tg) pointer within the struct, this can cause a memory fault or access garbage data. The issue arises in list_add_leaf_cfs_rq, where both cfs_rq->leaf_cfs_rq_list and rq->leaf_cfs_rq_list are added to the same leaf list. Also, rq->tmp_alone_branch can be set to rq->leaf_cfs_rq_list. This adds a check `if (prev == &rq->leaf_cfs_rq_list)` after the main conditional in child_cfs_rq_on_list. This ensures that the container_of operation will convert a correct cfs_rq struct. This check is sufficient because only cfs_rqs on the same CPU are added to the list, so verifying the 'prev' pointer against the current rq's list head is enough. Fixes a potential memory corruption issue that due to current struct layout might not be manifesting as a crash but could lead to unpredictable behavior when the layout changes.
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 analysisThe program writes past the bounds of a buffer, overwriting adjacent memory an attacker can turn to their advantage. Crafted input can overwrite control data and redirect execution. Remediation is validating every index and length before a write, plus modern memory-safety mitigations.
General guidance for the out-of-bounds write 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
>= 5.13, < 5.15.179>= 5.16, < 6.1.131>= 6.2, < 6.6.83>= 6.7, < 6.12.19>= 6.13, < 6.13.7= 6.14CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 · scoped5.15.1796.1.1316.6.83
Upgrade to Linux kernel 5.15.179, 6.1.131, 6.6.83, or 6.12.19 (or later stable release) depending on your distribution's kernel branch
- 1. Identify the current running kernel version using `uname -r` or `cat /proc/version`
- 2. Check if the current version is within any of the affected ranges: >= 5.13 and < 5.15.179, >= 5.16 and < 6.1.131, >= 6.2 and < 6.6.83, or >= 6.7 and < 6.12.19
- 3. If affected, update the system packages to install the latest stable kernel for your distribution
- 4. For Debian/Ubuntu: run `sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade` or install specific kernel package via `sudo apt install linux-image-<version>`
- 5. For RHEL/CentOS: run `sudo yum update` or `sudo dnf update`
- 6. For Alpine: run `apk update && apk upgrade linux-lts` or similar
- 7. After kernel installation, reboot the system to load the fixed kernel: `sudo reboot`
- 8. Verify the new kernel version is running after reboot using `uname -r`
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-21919 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-21919 in production — separate from our analysis above.
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
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