Linux Kernel up to 6.12.18/6.13.6 intel-ish-hid hid_ishtp_cl_remove use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.18/6.13.6. This affects the function hid_ishtp_cl_remove of the component intel-ish-hid. Such manipulation leads to use after free. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2025-21929. No exploit exists. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.18/6.13.6 and classified as critical. Affected by this issue is the function hid_ishtp_cl_remove of the component intel-ish-hid. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: HID: intel-ish-hid: Fix use-after-free issue in hid_ishtp_cl_remove() During the `rmmod` operation for the `intel_ishtp_hid` driver, a use-after-free issue can occur in the hid_ishtp_cl_remove() function. The function hid_ishtp_cl_deinit() is called before ishtp_hid_remove(), which can lead to accessing freed memory or resources during the removal process. Call Trace: ? ishtp_cl_send+0x168/0x220 [intel_ishtp] ? hid_output_report+0xe3/0x150 [hid] hid_ishtp_set_feature+0xb5/0x120 [intel_ishtp_hid] ishtp_hid_request+0x7b/0xb0 [intel_ishtp_hid] hid_hw_request+0x1f/0x40 [hid] sensor_hub_set_feature+0x11f/0x190 [hid_sensor_hub] _hid_sensor_power_state+0x147/0x1e0 [hid_sensor_trigger] hid_sensor_runtime_resume+0x22/0x30 [hid_sensor_trigger] sensor_hub_remove+0xa8/0xe0 [hid_sensor_hub] hid_device_remove+0x49/0xb0 [hid] hid_destroy_device+0x6f/0x90 [hid] ishtp_hid_remove+0x42/0x70 [intel_ishtp_hid] hid_ishtp_cl_remove+0x6b/0xb0 [intel_ishtp_hid] ishtp_cl_device_remove+0x4a/0x60 [intel_ishtp] ... Additionally, ishtp_hid_remove() is a HID level power off, which should occur before the ISHTP level disconnect. This patch resolves the issue by reordering the calls in hid_ishtp_cl_remove(). The function ishtp_hid_remove() is now called before hid_ishtp_cl_deinit().

The advisory is shared for download at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2025-21929 since 12/29/2024. The exploitation is known to be easy. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $0-$5k (estimation calculated on 02/01/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 241070 (Ubuntu 24.04 LTS : Linux kernel (OEM) vulnerabilities (USN-7606-1)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.12.19 or 6.13.7 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 9c677fe859a73f5dd3dd84c27f99e10d28047c73/e040f11fbca868c6d151e9f2c5730c476abfcf17/823987841424289339fdb4ba90e6d2c3792836db 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 (241070) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-0683). Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Google Container-Optimized OS
• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Dell Avamar
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• SolarWinds Security Event Manager
• Dell NetWorker
• Dell Secure Connect Gateway
• IBM Security Verify Access

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 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
• 6.12.16
• 6.12.17
• 6.12.18
• 6.13.0
• 6.13.1
• 6.13.2
• 6.13.3
• 6.13.4
• 6.13.5
• 6.13.6

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Entryinfo

Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

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