Linux Kernel up to 6.6.75/6.12.12/6.13.1 xdp denial of service

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability described as critical has been identified in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.75/6.12.12/6.13.1. This affects an unknown part of the component xdp. Executing a manipulation can lead to denial of service. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2025-21808. There is no exploit available. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.75/6.12.12/6.13.1 and classified as critical. This vulnerability affects an unknown code block of the component xdp. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a denial of service vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-404. The product does not release or incorrectly releases a resource before it is made available for re-use. As an impact it is known to affect availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: xdp: Disallow attaching device-bound programs in generic mode Device-bound programs are used to support RX metadata kfuncs. These kfuncs are driver-specific and rely on the driver context to read the metadata. This means they can't work in generic XDP mode. However, there is no check to disallow such programs from being attached in generic mode, in which case the metadata kfuncs will be called in an invalid context, leading to crashes. Fix this by adding a check to disallow attaching device-bound programs in generic mode.

The advisory is shared for download at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2025-21808 since 12/29/2024. There are neither technical details nor an exploit publicly available.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 236983 (Ubuntu 24.04 LTS / 24.10 : Linux kernel vulnerabilities (USN-7521-1)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.6.76, 6.12.13, 6.13.2 or 6.14-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch b1bc4a35a04cbeb85b6ef5911ec015baa424989f/557707906dd3e34b8a8c265f664d19f95799937e/5a9eae683d6c36e8a7aa31e5eb8b369e41aa66e1/3595599fa8360bb3c7afa7ee50c810b4a64106ea is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (236983) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-0461). VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

Affected

• Google Container-Optimized OS
• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• SUSE openSUSE
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• Dell Secure Connect Gateway

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.6.0
• 6.6.1
• 6.6.2
• 6.6.3
• 6.6.4
• 6.6.5
• 6.6.6
• 6.6.7
• 6.6.8
• 6.6.9
• 6.6.10
• 6.6.11
• 6.6.12
• 6.6.13
• 6.6.14
• 6.6.15
• 6.6.16
• 6.6.17
• 6.6.18
• 6.6.19
• 6.6.20
• 6.6.21
• 6.6.22
• 6.6.23
• 6.6.24
• 6.6.25
• 6.6.26
• 6.6.27
• 6.6.28
• 6.6.29
• 6.6.30
• 6.6.31
• 6.6.32
• 6.6.33
• 6.6.34
• 6.6.35
• 6.6.36
• 6.6.37
• 6.6.38
• 6.6.39
• 6.6.40
• 6.6.41
• 6.6.42
• 6.6.43
• 6.6.44
• 6.6.45
• 6.6.46
• 6.6.47
• 6.6.48
• 6.6.49
• 6.6.50
• 6.6.51
• 6.6.52
• 6.6.53
• 6.6.54
• 6.6.55
• 6.6.56
• 6.6.57
• 6.6.58
• 6.6.59
• 6.6.60
• 6.6.61
• 6.6.62
• 6.6.63
• 6.6.64
• 6.6.65
• 6.6.66
• 6.6.67
• 6.6.68
• 6.6.69
• 6.6.70
• 6.6.71
• 6.6.72
• 6.6.73
• 6.6.74
• 6.6.75
• 6.12.0
• 6.12.1
• 6.12.2
• 6.12.3
• 6.12.4
• 6.12.5
• 6.12.6
• 6.12.7
• 6.12.8
• 6.12.9
• 6.12.10
• 6.12.11
• 6.12.12
• 6.13.0
• 6.13.1

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Entryinfo

VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

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