{ "dataType": "CVE_RECORD", "dataVersion": "5.2", "cveMetadata": { "cveId": "CVE-2025-21786", "assignerOrgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67", "state": "PUBLISHED", "assignerShortName": "Linux", "dateReserved": "2024-12-29T08:45:45.765Z", "datePublished": "2025-02-27T02:18:26.406Z", "dateUpdated": "2026-08-05T11:54:24.903Z" }, "containers": { "cna": { "providerMetadata": { "orgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67", "shortName": "Linux", "dateUpdated": "2026-08-05T11:54:24.903Z" }, "descriptions": [ { "lang": "en", "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nworkqueue: Put the pwq after detaching the rescuer from the pool\n\nThe commit 68f83057b913(\"workqueue: Reap workers via kthread_stop() and\nremove detach_completion\") adds code to reap the normal workers but\nmistakenly does not handle the rescuer and also removes the code waiting\nfor the rescuer in put_unbound_pool(), which caused a use-after-free bug\nreported by Cheung Wall.\n\nTo avoid the use-after-free bug, the pool’s reference must be held until\nthe detachment is complete. Therefore, move the code that puts the pwq\nafter detaching the rescuer from the pool." } ], "metrics": [ { "cvssV3_1": { "version": "3.1", "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H", "baseScore": 7.8, "baseSeverity": "HIGH" }, "scenarios": [ { "lang": "en", "value": "AV:L - The vulnerability is in the core workqueue rescuer path and is reached by generating local workqueue load and memory pressure; there is no remote input path into `rescuer_thread()`. Exploitation requires the attacker to be executing code on the system.\nAC:L - The attacker fully controls the side of the race that matters — sustained memory pressure plus queued work on an unbound `WQ_MEM_RECLAIM` workqueue drives `pool_mayday_timeout()`/`send_mayday()` at will and can be looped indefinitely, so the narrow window between `put_pwq()` and `worker_detach_from_pool()` can be retried unboundedly until the RCU free lands first.\nPR:L - Any unprivileged local user can create the required conditions — allocating memory to stall `create_worker()` and issuing filesystem/block/network I/O that queues work on unbound `WQ_MEM_RECLAIM` workqueues (ext4-rsv-conversion, xfs, nfsiod, rpciod, scsi hosts). No capability check guards the rescuer path.\nUI:N - The rescuer is summoned automatically by the workqueue watchdog timer under memory pressure; no action by any other user or administrator-victim is needed to complete the attack.\nS:U - The freed object and the corruption both live in kernel heap memory within the same security authority; there is no VM, IOMMU, or sandbox boundary crossed.\nC:H - The freed `struct worker_pool` is read after free (`pool->flags`, `worker->node` list pointers) and comes from a generic kmalloc cache, so a reallocated victim object leaks its contents through the rescuer's list manipulation, giving a path to arbitrary kernel memory disclosure.\nI:H - `detach_worker()`'s `list_del(&worker->node)` performs a write-after-free of kernel pointers at the fixed offset of `pool->workers` into the freed slab object, which after heap spraying yields a controlled-offset write primitive usable for control-flow hijack and privilege escalation.\nA:H - Use-after-free on the worker pool corrupts the attached-workers list and typically produces an immediate oops/panic (KASAN reported it as a UAF), permanently wedging or crashing the kernel." } ] } ], "affected": [ { "product": "Linux", "vendor": "Linux", "defaultStatus": "unaffected", "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git", "programFiles": [ "kernel/workqueue.c" ], "versions": [ { "version": "68f83057b913467a999e1bf9e0da6a119668f769", "lessThan": "e7c16028a424dd35be1064a68fa318be4359310f", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git" }, { "version": "68f83057b913467a999e1bf9e0da6a119668f769", "lessThan": "835b69c868f53f959d4986bbecd561ba6f38e492", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git" }, { "version": "68f83057b913467a999e1bf9e0da6a119668f769", "lessThan": "e76946110137703c16423baf6ee177b751a34b7e", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git" } ] }, { "product": "Linux", "vendor": "Linux", "defaultStatus": "affected", "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git", "programFiles": [ "kernel/workqueue.c" ], "versions": [ { "version": "6.11", "status": "affected" }, { "version": "0", "lessThan": "6.11", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver" }, { "version": "6.12.16", "lessThanOrEqual": "6.12.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver" }, { "version": "6.13.4", "lessThanOrEqual": "6.13.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver" }, { "version": "6.14", "lessThanOrEqual": "*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix" } ] } ], "cpeApplicability": [ { "nodes": [ { "operator": "OR", "negate": false, "cpeMatch": [ { "vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "6.11", "versionEndExcluding": "6.12.16" }, { "vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "6.11", "versionEndExcluding": "6.13.4" }, { "vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "6.11", "versionEndExcluding": "6.14" } ] } ] } ], "references": [ { "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e7c16028a424dd35be1064a68fa318be4359310f" }, { "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/835b69c868f53f959d4986bbecd561ba6f38e492" }, { "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e76946110137703c16423baf6ee177b751a34b7e" } ], "title": "workqueue: Put the pwq after detaching the rescuer from the pool", "x_generator": { "engine": "bippy-1.2.0" } }, "adp": [ { "metrics": [ { "cvssV3_1": { "scope": "UNCHANGED", "version": "3.1", "baseScore": 7.8, "attackVector": "LOCAL", "baseSeverity": "HIGH", "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H", "integrityImpact": "HIGH", "userInteraction": "NONE", "attackComplexity": "LOW", "availabilityImpact": "HIGH", "privilegesRequired": "LOW", "confidentialityImpact": "HIGH" } }, { "other": { "type": "ssvc", "content": { "id": "CVE-2025-21786", "role": "CISA Coordinator", "options": [ { "Exploitation": "none" }, { "Automatable": "no" }, { "Technical Impact": "total" } ], "version": "2.0.3", "timestamp": "2025-02-27T18:14:15.335144Z" } } } ], "problemTypes": [ { "descriptions": [ { "lang": "en", "type": "CWE", "cweId": "CWE-416", "description": "CWE-416 Use After Free" } ] } ], "title": "CISA ADP Vulnrichment", "providerMetadata": { "orgId": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0", "shortName": "CISA-ADP", "dateUpdated": "2025-02-27T18:22:29.313Z" } } ] } }