CVE Intelligence
Medium Memory corruption

CVE-2025-21825 — bpf: Cancel the running bpf_timer through kworker for PREEMPT_RT

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Cancel the running bpf_timer through kworker for PREEMPT_RT During the update procedure, when overwrite element in a pre-allocated htab, the freeing of old_element is protected by the bucket lock. The reason why the bucket lock is necessary is that the old_element has already been stashed in htab->extra_elems after alloc_htab_elem() returns. If freeing the old_element after the bucket lock is unlocked, the stashed element may be reused by concurrent update procedure and the freeing of old_element will run concurrently with the reuse of the old_element. However, the invocation of check_and_free_fields() may acquire a spin-lock which violates the lockdep rule because its caller has already held a raw-spin-lock (bucket lock). The following warning will be reported when such race happens: BUG: scheduling while atomic: test_progs/676/0x00000003 3 locks held by test_progs/676: #0: ffffffff864b0240 (rcu_read_lock_trace){....}-{0:0}, at: bpf_prog_test_run_syscall+0x2c0/0x830 #1: ffff88810e961188 (&htab->lockdep_key){....}-{2:2}, at: htab_map_update_elem+0x306/0x1500 #2: ffff8881f4eac1b8 (&base->softirq_expiry_lock){....}-{2:2}, at: hrtimer_cancel_wait_running+0xe9/0x1b0 Modules linked in: bpf_testmod(O) Preemption disabled at: [<ffffffff817837a3>] htab_map_update_elem+0x293/0x1500 CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 676 Comm: test_progs Tainted: G ... 6.12.0+ #11 Tainted: [W]=WARN, [O]=OOT_MODULE Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996)... Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x57/0x70 dump_stack+0x10/0x20 __schedule_bug+0x120/0x170 __schedule+0x300c/0x4800 schedule_rtlock+0x37/0x60 rtlock_slowlock_locked+0x6d9/0x54c0 rt_spin_lock+0x168/0x230 hrtimer_cancel_wait_running+0xe9/0x1b0 hrtimer_cancel+0x24/0x30 bpf_timer_delete_work+0x1d/0x40 bpf_timer_cancel_and_free+0x5e/0x80 bpf_obj_free_fields+0x262/0x4a0 check_and_free_fields+0x1d0/0x280 htab_map_update_elem+0x7fc/0x1500 bpf_prog_9f90bc20768e0cb9_overwrite_cb+0x3f/0x43 bpf_prog_ea601c4649694dbd_overwrite_timer+0x5d/0x7e bpf_prog_test_run_syscall+0x322/0x830 __sys_bpf+0x135d/0x3ca0 __x64_sys_bpf+0x75/0xb0 x64_sys_call+0x1b5/0xa10 do_syscall_64+0x3b/0xc0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 ... </TASK> It seems feasible to break the reuse and refill of per-cpu extra_elems into two independent parts: reuse the per-cpu extra_elems with bucket lock being held and refill the old_element as per-cpu extra_elems after the bucket lock is unlocked. However, it will make the concurrent overwrite procedures on the same CPU return unexpected -E2BIG error when the map is full. Therefore, the patch fixes the lock problem by breaking the cancelling of bpf_timer into two steps for PREEMPT_RT: 1) use hrtimer_try_to_cancel() and check its return value 2) if the timer is running, use hrtimer_cancel() through a kworker to cancel it again Considering that the current implementation of hrtimer_cancel() will try to acquire a being held softirq_expiry_lock when the current timer is running, these steps above are reasonable. However, it also has downside. When the timer is running, the cancelling of the timer is delayed when releasing the last map uref. The delay is also fixable (e.g., break the cancelling of bpf timer into two parts: one part in locked scope, another one in unlocked scope), it can be revised later if necessary. It is a bit hard to decide the right fix tag. One reason is that the problem depends on PREEMPT_RT which is enabled in v6.12. Considering the softirq_expiry_lock lock exists since v5.4 and bpf_timer is introduced in v5.15, the bpf_timer commit is used in the fixes tag and an extra depends-on tag is added to state the dependency on PREEMPT_RT. Depends-on: v6.12+ with PREEMPT_RT enabled

Published Mar 6, 2025 · Updated Oct 15, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP, GitHub Security Advisories · CNA: Linux

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 0.2% (30-day exploitation probability)+1
  • Technical severity (medium)+3

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
0.18%
ahead of 7% of scored CVEs · Oct 15, 2026
Affects
Linux
Linux and 1 more
CVSS base
4.7
Medium · 4 source(s)
Prioritization reference: 7.8 provisional

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
None
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
No
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Total
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Linux Linux, Linux Linux Kernel).
  2. Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
  3. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (memory corruption), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Linux Linux ≥ b00628b1c7d595ae5b544e059c27b1f5828314b4 and < 33e47d9573075342a41783a55c8c67bc71246fc1≥ b00628b1c7d595ae5b544e059c27b1f5828314b4 and < fbeda3d939ca10063aafa7a77cc0f409d82cda88≥ b00628b1c7d595ae5b544e059c27b1f5828314b4 and < 58f038e6d209d2dd862fcf5de55407855856794dversion 5.15 Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Linux Linux Kernel ≥ 5.15 and < 6.12.13≥ 6.13 and < 6.13.2 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
High
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
7.8 CVSS 3.1 High 1.8 5.9 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 via NIST National Vulnerability Database
7.8 CVSS 3.1 High — — Linux via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
4.7 CVSS 3.1 Medium 1.0 3.6 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
4.7 CVSS 3.1 Medium — — GitHub, Inc. via GitHub Security Advisories
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)
Scoring entities (NIST, CNA, ADP) score independently; each score is shown with its origin. For prioritization we use 7.8 (416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 via NIST National Vulnerability Database) as a conservative provisional reference — not a definitive official score.

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-415 · Double Free

Other CVEs with this weakness →

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
  • Correlate service crashes/restarts with inbound traffic; repeated crashes may indicate attempts.
endpoint telemetry (EDR)crash dumps

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · linux/linux
    Oct 15, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 15, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 15, 2026
  • Fix documented
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Affected products added · linux/linux kernel
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 4.7
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Modified
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 15, 2026 · Alertas do Telegram
  • 2025
  • CVE published
    Mar 6, 2025 · Linux

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 2× References added · Oct 15, 2026 – Oct 15, 2026
  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 15, 2026 – Oct 15, 2026

References

5 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Linux
every CVE for this vendor
Memory corruption
same class
CWE-415
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-99999 ipv4: validate checksum_start before completing checksum 1d
  • CVE-2026-98432 ipv4: free inet_opt and ireq_opt after an RCU grace period 1d
  • CVE-2026-98424 wifi: cfg80211: undo netns switch if renaming the wiphy fails 2d
  • CVE-2026-98425 wifi: mac80211: don't warn when an IBSS has no channel to scan 2d
  • CVE-2026-98426 wifi: mwifiex: fix IRQ leak using wrong index in MSI-X error path 2d
  • CVE-2026-98427 net/sched: codel: bound the dropping loop per dequeue call 2d

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2025-21825 is "bpf: Cancel the running bpf_timer through kworker for PREEMPT_RT", rated Medium. It affects Linux (Linux); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 4.7 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.18% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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