CVE-2025-21637: Linux kernel · sctp: sysctl: udp_port: avoid using current->nsproxy
Source GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium.
Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 01:00 UTC
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 19 Jan 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 29 Oct 2026.
What to do
AI-suggested
A fix has been implemented in the Linux kernel source code to avoid using current->nsproxy and instead obtain the 'net' structure safely from table->data. Users should update to the fixed kernel version once available. Since this is a kernel-level issue, applying the official kernel patch or upgrading to a patched kernel release is the recommended mitigation.
Description
CVE-2025-21637 is a vulnerability in the Linux kernel SCTP sysctl udp_port handling where the use of current->nsproxy can lead to a null pointer dereference. This occurs because current->nsproxy may be NULL when the current task is exiting, causing a kernel 'Oops'. The issue was identified by syzbot and fixed by changing the code to obtain the 'net' structure from table->data instead of current->nsproxy.
References
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-21637 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/0a0966312ac3eedd7f5f2a766ed4702df39a9a65 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/55627918febdf9d71107a1e68d1528dc591c9a15 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/5b77d73f3be5102720fb685b9e6900e3500e1096 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/c10377bbc1972d858eaf0ab366a311b39f8ef1b6 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/e919197fb8616331f5dc81e4c3cc3d12769cb725 (opens in a new tab)
- lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/03/msg00001.html (opens in a new tab)