Linux Kernel up to 6.12.62/6.17.12/6.18.1 scsi sdev_destroy use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.62/6.17.12/6.18.1. It has been rated as critical. The impacted element is the function sdev_destroy of the component scsi. This manipulation causes use after free. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2025-68371. There is not any exploit available. Upgrading the affected component is advised.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.62/6.17.12/6.18.1. It has been declared as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function sdev_destroy of the component scsi. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: scsi: smartpqi: Fix device resources accessed after device removal Correct possible race conditions during device removal. Previously, a scheduled work item to reset a LUN could still execute after the device was removed, leading to use-after-free and other resource access issues. This race condition occurs because the abort handler may schedule a LUN reset concurrently with device removal via sdev_destroy(), leading to use-after-free and improper access to freed resources. - Check in the device reset handler if the device is still present in the controller's SCSI device list before running; if not, the reset is skipped. - Cancel any pending TMF work that has not started in sdev_destroy(). - Ensure device freeing in sdev_destroy() is done while holding the LUN reset mutex to avoid races with ongoing resets.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2025-68371 since 12/16/2025. The exploitation appears to be easy. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 01/12/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 279717 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2025-68371), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.12.63, 6.17.13, 6.18.2 or 6.19-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch eccc02ba1747501d92bb2049e3ce378ba372f641/4e1acf1b6dd6dd0495bda139daafd7a403ae2dc1/1a5c5a2f88e839af5320216a02ffb075b668596a/b518e86d1a70a88f6592a7c396cf1b93493d1aab 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 (279717), EUVD (EUVD-2025-205083) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2920). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Open Source Linux Kernel

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
• 6.12.19
• 6.12.20
• 6.12.21
• 6.12.22
• 6.12.23
• 6.12.24
• 6.12.25
• 6.12.26
• 6.12.27
• 6.12.28
• 6.12.29
• 6.12.30
• 6.12.31
• 6.12.32
• 6.12.33
• 6.12.34
• 6.12.35
• 6.12.36
• 6.12.37
• 6.12.38
• 6.12.39
• 6.12.40
• 6.12.41
• 6.12.42
• 6.12.43
• 6.12.44
• 6.12.45
• 6.12.46
• 6.12.47
• 6.12.48
• 6.12.49
• 6.12.50
• 6.12.51
• 6.12.52
• 6.12.53
• 6.12.54
• 6.12.55
• 6.12.56
• 6.12.57
• 6.12.58
• 6.12.59
• 6.12.60
• 6.12.61
• 6.12.62
• 6.17.0
• 6.17.1
• 6.17.2
• 6.17.3
• 6.17.4
• 6.17.5
• 6.17.6
• 6.17.7
• 6.17.8
• 6.17.9
• 6.17.10
• 6.17.11
• 6.17.12
• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Entryinfo

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