CVE-2025-21631: Vulnerability in Linux Linux

Severity: highType: vulnerabilityCVE-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---

AI Analysis

Technical Summary

CVE-2025-21631 is a high-severity use-after-free (UAF) vulnerability identified in the Linux kernel's block layer, specifically within the Budget Fair Queueing (BFQ) I/O scheduler implementation. The vulnerability arises from improper handling of the waker_bfqq pointer after the bfq_split_bfqq() function is called, leading to a use-after-free condition. This flaw was detected and reported by syzkaller, a kernel fuzzing tool, and affects Linux kernel version 6.6. The vulnerability manifests as a KASAN (Kernel Address Sanitizer) slab-use-after-free error during the initialization of request queues (bfq_init_rq) in the bfq-iosched.c source file. The detailed call trace shows that the issue occurs when the kernel attempts to add a request to the BFQ scheduler, eventually leading to a read operation on a freed memory address. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-416 (Use After Free), which can lead to arbitrary code execution, privilege escalation, or system crashes if exploited. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 7.8, indicating a high severity with attack vector Local (AV:L), low attack complexity (AC:L), requiring low privileges (PR:L), no user interaction (UI:N), unchanged scope (S:U), and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H). No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, but the vulnerability's nature and impact make it a critical concern for systems running affected Linux kernel versions.

Potential Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-21631 can be significant, especially for those relying on Linux-based infrastructure for critical operations, including servers, cloud environments, and embedded systems. Exploitation of this vulnerability could allow a local attacker with limited privileges to execute arbitrary code within the kernel context, leading to full system compromise. This could result in unauthorized data access, data corruption, service disruption, and potential lateral movement within enterprise networks. Given the widespread use of Linux in European government agencies, financial institutions, telecommunications, and industrial control systems, the vulnerability poses a risk to confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive data and critical services. Additionally, the lack of required user interaction and the relatively low privilege needed to exploit the flaw increase the likelihood of successful attacks in environments where untrusted local users or compromised accounts exist. The vulnerability could also affect cloud service providers and hosting platforms based in Europe, impacting multi-tenant environments and potentially exposing customer data.

Mitigation Recommendations

To mitigate CVE-2025-21631 effectively, European organizations should: 1) Prioritize updating Linux kernel versions to the latest patched releases that address this vulnerability as soon as they become available from trusted distributors or upstream sources. 2) Implement strict access controls and minimize the number of users with local access or privileges capable of triggering kernel-level operations, reducing the attack surface. 3) Employ kernel hardening techniques such as enabling Kernel Address Sanitizer (KASAN) in testing environments to detect similar issues proactively. 4) Use security modules like SELinux or AppArmor to restrict the capabilities of processes interacting with block devices and I/O schedulers. 5) Monitor system logs and kernel crash reports for signs of exploitation attempts or unusual behavior related to block device operations. 6) For cloud and virtualized environments, ensure hypervisor and container runtime security to prevent privilege escalation from guest to host. 7) Conduct regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing focusing on kernel-level vulnerabilities to identify and remediate risks promptly.