CVE-2025-21938

Description

From CVE.org

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mptcp: fix 'scheduling while atomic' in mptcp_pm_nl_append_new_local_addr If multiple connection requests attempt to create an implicit mptcp endpoint in parallel, more than one caller may end up in mptcp_pm_nl_append_new_local_addr because none found the address in local_addr_list during their call to mptcp_pm_nl_get_local_id. In this case, the concurrent new_local_addr calls may delete the address entry created by the previous caller. These deletes use synchronize_rcu, but this is not permitted in some of the contexts where this function may be called. During packet recv, the caller may be in a rcu read critical section and have preemption disabled. An example stack: BUG: scheduling while atomic: swapper/2/0/0x00000302 Call Trace: <IRQ> dump_stack_lvl (lib/dump_stack.c:117 (discriminator 1)) dump_stack (lib/dump_stack.c:124) __schedule_bug (kernel/sched/core.c:5943) schedule_debug.constprop.0 (arch/x86/include/asm/preempt.h:33 kernel/sched/core.c:5970) __schedule (arch/x86/include/asm/jump_label.h:27 include/linux/jump_label.h:207 kernel/sched/features.h:29 kernel/sched/core.c:6621) schedule (arch/x86/include/asm/preempt.h:84 kernel/sched/core.c:6804 kernel/sched/core.c:6818) schedule_timeout (kernel/time/timer.c:2160) wait_for_completion (kernel/sched/completion.c:96 kernel/sched/completion.c:116 kernel/sched/completion.c:127 kernel/sched/completion.c:148) __wait_rcu_gp (include/linux/rcupdate.h:311 kernel/rcu/update.c:444) synchronize_rcu (kernel/rcu/tree.c:3609) mptcp_pm_nl_append_new_local_addr (net/mptcp/pm_netlink.c:966 net/mptcp/pm_netlink.c:1061) mptcp_pm_nl_get_local_id (net/mptcp/pm_netlink.c:1164) mptcp_pm_get_local_id (net/mptcp/pm.c:420) subflow_check_req (net/mptcp/subflow.c:98 net/mptcp/subflow.c:213) subflow_v4_route_req (net/mptcp/subflow.c:305) tcp_conn_request (net/ipv4/tcp_input.c:7216) subflow_v4_conn_request (net/mptcp/subflow.c:651) tcp_rcv_state_process (net/ipv4/tcp_input.c:6709) tcp_v4_do_rcv (net/ipv4/tcp_ipv4.c:1934) tcp_v4_rcv (net/ipv4/tcp_ipv4.c:2334) ip_protocol_deliver_rcu (net/ipv4/ip_input.c:205 (discriminator 1)) ip_local_deliver_finish (include/linux/rcupdate.h:813 net/ipv4/ip_input.c:234) ip_local_deliver (include/linux/netfilter.h:314 include/linux/netfilter.h:308 net/ipv4/ip_input.c:254) ip_sublist_rcv_finish (include/net/dst.h:461 net/ipv4/ip_input.c:580) ip_sublist_rcv (net/ipv4/ip_input.c:640) ip_list_rcv (net/ipv4/ip_input.c:675) __netif_receive_skb_list_core (net/core/dev.c:5583 net/core/dev.c:5631) netif_receive_skb_list_internal (net/core/dev.c:5685 net/core/dev.c:5774) napi_complete_done (include/linux/list.h:37 include/net/gro.h:449 include/net/gro.h:444 net/core/dev.c:6114) igb_poll (drivers/net/ethernet/intel/igb/igb_main.c:8244) igb __napi_poll (net/core/dev.c:6582) net_rx_action (net/core/dev.c:6653 net/core/dev.c:6787) handle_softirqs (kernel/softirq.c:553) __irq_exit_rcu (kernel/softirq.c:588 kernel/softirq.c:427 kernel/softirq.c:636) irq_exit_rcu (kernel/softirq.c:651) common_interrupt (arch/x86/kernel/irq.c:247 (discriminator 14)) </IRQ> This problem seems particularly prevalent if the user advertises an endpoint that has a different external vs internal address. In the case where the external address is advertised and multiple connections already exist, multiple subflow SYNs arrive in parallel which tends to trigger the race during creation of the first local_addr_list entries which have the internal address instead. Fix by skipping the replacement of an existing implicit local address if called via mptcp_pm_nl_get_local_id.

Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details

Info alert:Important note

CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).

The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.

CVSS v3 Score Breakdown

Red HatNVDcve.org
Base Score5.94.77.5
Attack VectorNetworkLocalNetwork
Attack ComplexityHighHighLow
Privileges RequiredNoneLowNone
User InteractionNoneNoneNone
ScopeUnchangedUnchangedUnchanged
ConfidentialityNoneNoneNone
Integrity ImpactNoneNoneNone
Availability ImpactHighHighHigh

Vector

Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Understanding the Weakness (CWE)

Availability

Technical Impact: DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU); DoS: Resource Consumption (Memory); DoS: Resource Consumption (Other)

When a race condition makes it possible to bypass a resource cleanup routine or trigger multiple initialization routines, it may lead to resource exhaustion.

Availability

Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart; DoS: Instability

When a race condition allows multiple control flows to access a resource simultaneously, it might lead the product(s) into unexpected states, possibly resulting in a crash.

Confidentiality,Integrity

Technical Impact: Read Files or Directories; Read Application Data

When a race condition is combined with predictable resource names and loose permissions, it may be possible for an attacker to overwrite or access confidential data (CWE-59).

Access Control

Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; Gain Privileges or Assume Identity; Bypass Protection Mechanism

This can have security implications when the expected synchronization is in security-critical code, such as recording whether a user is authenticated or modifying important state information that should not be influenced by an outsider.

Frequently Asked Questions

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