CVE-2025-21631 Vulnerability Analysis & Exploit Details

CVE-2025-21631
Vulnerability Scoring

7.8
/10
Very High Risk

Highly exploitable, CVE-2025-21631 poses a critical security risk that could lead to severe breaches.

Attack Complexity Details

  • Attack Complexity: Low
    Exploits can be performed without significant complexity or special conditions.
  • Attack Vector: Local
    Vulnerability requires local system access.
  • Privileges Required: Low
    Some privileges are necessary to exploit the vulnerability.
  • Scope: Unchanged
    Exploit remains within the originally vulnerable component.
  • User Interaction: None
    No user interaction is necessary for exploitation.

CVE-2025-21631 Details

Status: Modified

Last updated: 🕕 10 Feb 2025, 18:15 UTC
Originally published on: 🕚 19 Jan 2025, 11:15 UTC

Time between publication and last update: 22 days

CVSS Release: version 3

CVSS3 Source

nvd@nist.gov

CVSS3 Type

Primary

CVSS3 Vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVE-2025-21631 Vulnerability Summary

CVE-2025-21631: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: block, bfq: fix waker_bfqq UAF after bfq_split_bfqq() Our syzkaller report a following UAF for v6.6: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in bfq_init_rq+0x175d/0x17a0 block/bfq-iosched.c:6958 Read of size 8 at addr ffff8881b57147d8 by task fsstress/232726 CPU: 2 PID: 232726 Comm: fsstress Not tainted 6.6.0-g3629d1885222 #39 Call Trace: <TASK> __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:88 [inline] dump_stack_lvl+0x91/0xf0 lib/dump_stack.c:106 print_address_description.constprop.0+0x66/0x300 mm/kasan/report.c:364 print_report+0x3e/0x70 mm/kasan/report.c:475 kasan_report+0xb8/0xf0 mm/kasan/report.c:588 hlist_add_head include/linux/list.h:1023 [inline] bfq_init_rq+0x175d/0x17a0 block/bfq-iosched.c:6958 bfq_insert_request.isra.0+0xe8/0xa20 block/bfq-iosched.c:6271 bfq_insert_requests+0x27f/0x390 block/bfq-iosched.c:6323 blk_mq_insert_request+0x290/0x8f0 block/blk-mq.c:2660 blk_mq_submit_bio+0x1021/0x15e0 block/blk-mq.c:3143 __submit_bio+0xa0/0x6b0 block/blk-core.c:639 __submit_bio_noacct_mq block/blk-core.c:718 [inline] submit_bio_noacct_nocheck+0x5b7/0x810 block/blk-core.c:747 submit_bio_noacct+0xca0/0x1990 block/blk-core.c:847 __ext4_read_bh fs/ext4/super.c:205 [inline] ext4_read_bh+0x15e/0x2e0 fs/ext4/super.c:230 __read_extent_tree_block+0x304/0x6f0 fs/ext4/extents.c:567 ext4_find_extent+0x479/0xd20 fs/ext4/extents.c:947 ext4_ext_map_blocks+0x1a3/0x2680 fs/ext4/extents.c:4182 ext4_map_blocks+0x929/0x15a0 fs/ext4/inode.c:660 ext4_iomap_begin_report+0x298/0x480 fs/ext4/inode.c:3569 iomap_iter+0x3dd/0x1010 fs/iomap/iter.c:91 iomap_fiemap+0x1f4/0x360 fs/iomap/fiemap.c:80 ext4_fiemap+0x181/0x210 fs/ext4/extents.c:5051 ioctl_fiemap.isra.0+0x1b4/0x290 fs/ioctl.c:220 do_vfs_ioctl+0x31c/0x11a0 fs/ioctl.c:811 __do_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:869 [inline] __se_sys_ioctl+0xae/0x190 fs/ioctl.c:857 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:51 [inline] do_syscall_64+0x70/0x120 arch/x86/entry/common.c:81 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x78/0xe2 Allocated by task 232719: kasan_save_stack+0x22/0x50 mm/kasan/common.c:45 kasan_set_track+0x25/0x30 mm/kasan/common.c:52 __kasan_slab_alloc+0x87/0x90 mm/kasan/common.c:328 kasan_slab_alloc include/linux/kasan.h:188 [inline] slab_post_alloc_hook mm/slab.h:768 [inline] slab_alloc_node mm/slub.c:3492 [inline] kmem_cache_alloc_node+0x1b8/0x6f0 mm/slub.c:3537 bfq_get_queue+0x215/0x1f00 block/bfq-iosched.c:5869 bfq_get_bfqq_handle_split+0x167/0x5f0 block/bfq-iosched.c:6776 bfq_init_rq+0x13a4/0x17a0 block/bfq-iosched.c:6938 bfq_insert_request.isra.0+0xe8/0xa20 block/bfq-iosched.c:6271 bfq_insert_requests+0x27f/0x390 block/bfq-iosched.c:6323 blk_mq_insert_request+0x290/0x8f0 block/blk-mq.c:2660 blk_mq_submit_bio+0x1021/0x15e0 block/blk-mq.c:3143 __submit_bio+0xa0/0x6b0 block/blk-core.c:639 __submit_bio_noacct_mq block/blk-core.c:718 [inline] submit_bio_noacct_nocheck+0x5b7/0x810 block/blk-core.c:747 submit_bio_noacct+0xca0/0x1990 block/blk-core.c:847 __ext4_read_bh fs/ext4/super.c:205 [inline] ext4_read_bh_nowait+0x15a/0x240 fs/ext4/super.c:217 ext4_read_bh_lock+0xac/0xd0 fs/ext4/super.c:242 ext4_bread_batch+0x268/0x500 fs/ext4/inode.c:958 __ext4_find_entry+0x448/0x10f0 fs/ext4/namei.c:1671 ext4_lookup_entry fs/ext4/namei.c:1774 [inline] ext4_lookup.part.0+0x359/0x6f0 fs/ext4/namei.c:1842 ext4_lookup+0x72/0x90 fs/ext4/namei.c:1839 __lookup_slow+0x257/0x480 fs/namei.c:1696 lookup_slow fs/namei.c:1713 [inline] walk_component+0x454/0x5c0 fs/namei.c:2004 link_path_walk.part.0+0x773/0xda0 fs/namei.c:2331 link_path_walk fs/namei.c:3826 [inline] path_openat+0x1b9/0x520 fs/namei.c:3826 do_filp_open+0x1b7/0x400 fs/namei.c:3857 do_sys_openat2+0x5dc/0x6e0 fs/open.c:1428 do_sys_open fs/open.c:1443 [inline] __do_sys_openat fs/open.c:1459 [inline] __se_sys_openat fs/open.c:1454 [inline] __x64_sys_openat+0x148/0x200 fs/open.c:1454 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:51 [inline] do_syscall_6 ---truncated---

Assessing the Risk of CVE-2025-21631

Access Complexity Graph

The exploitability of CVE-2025-21631 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).

Exploitability Analysis for CVE-2025-21631

CVE-2025-21631 presents an accessible attack vector with minimal effort required. Restricting access controls and implementing security updates are critical to reducing exploitation risks.

Understanding AC and PR

A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.

Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.

Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.

CVSS Score Breakdown Chart

Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2025-21631, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.

CIA Impact Analysis

Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2025-21631, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.

  • Confidentiality: High
    Exploiting CVE-2025-21631 can result in unauthorized access to sensitive data, severely compromising data privacy.
  • Integrity: High
    CVE-2025-21631 could allow unauthorized modifications to data, potentially affecting system reliability and trust.
  • Availability: High
    CVE-2025-21631 can disrupt system operations, potentially causing complete denial of service (DoS).

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)

The EPSS score estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the near future.

EPSS Score: 0.042% (probability of exploit)

EPSS Percentile: 5.07% (lower percentile = lower relative risk)
This vulnerability is less risky than approximately 94.93% of others.

CVE-2025-21631 References

External References

CWE Common Weakness Enumeration

CWE-416

Vulnerable Configurations

  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15.168:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15.168:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15.170:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15.170:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15.171:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15.171:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15.172:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15.172:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1.113:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1.113:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1.114:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1.114:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1.115:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1.115:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1.116:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1.116:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1.117:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1.117:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1.119:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1.119:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.54:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.54:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.55:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.55:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.56:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.56:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.57:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.57:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.58:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.58:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.59:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.59:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.60:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.60:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.61:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.61:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.62:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.62:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.63:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.63:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.64:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.64:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.66:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.66:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.69:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.69:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.10.13:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.10.13:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.10.14:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.10.14:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.10:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.10:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.10:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.10:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.10:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.10:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.10:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.10:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.10:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.10:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.10:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.10:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.10:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.10:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11:rc8:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11:rc8:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.12:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.12:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*

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