Linux Kernel up to 6.6.79/6.12.15/6.13.3/6.14-rc2 usb device_del state issue

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as problematic has been reported in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.79/6.12.15/6.13.3/6.14-rc2. Affected by this vulnerability is the function device_del of the component usb. The manipulation leads to state issue. This vulnerability is referenced as CVE-2025-21838. No exploit is available. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.79/6.12.15/6.13.3/6.14-rc2. It has been rated as problematic. This issue affects the function device_del of the component usb. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a state issue vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-371. The impact remains unknown. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: usb: gadget: core: flush gadget workqueue after device removal device_del() can lead to new work being scheduled in gadget->work workqueue. This is observed, for example, with the dwc3 driver with the following call stack: device_del() gadget_unbind_driver() usb_gadget_disconnect_locked() dwc3_gadget_pullup() dwc3_gadget_soft_disconnect() usb_gadget_set_state() schedule_work(&gadget->work) Move flush_work() after device_del() to ensure the workqueue is cleaned up.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2025-21838 since 12/29/2024. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 02/16/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 234309 (Debian dsa-5900 : affs-modules-6.1.0-28-4kc-malta-di - security update), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.6.80, 6.12.16, 6.13.4 or 6.14-rc3 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 859cb45aefa6de823b2fa7f229fe6d9562c9f3b7/f894448f3904d7ad66fecef8f01fe0172629e091/97695b5a1b5467a4f91194db12160f56da445dfe/399a45e5237ca14037120b1b895bd38a3b4492ea 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 (234309) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-0499). If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

Affected

• Google Container-Optimized OS
• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• RESF Rocky Linux
• SolarWinds Security Event Manager
• 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
• 6.6.76
• 6.6.77
• 6.6.78
• 6.6.79
• 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
• 6.12.13
• 6.12.14
• 6.12.15
• 6.13.0
• 6.13.1
• 6.13.2
• 6.13.3
• 6.14-rc1
• 6.14-rc2

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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CVSSv4info

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Exploitinginfo

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Entryinfo

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