CVE-2025-21922: Linux kernel · ppp: Fix KMSAN uninit-value warning with bpf
Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium · fixed in 5.4.0-1146.156~18.04.1 : update Linux kernel when convenient.
Data as of 28 Oct 2026, 11:14 UTC
- Patch
- Available – fixed in 5.4.0-1146.156~18.04.1, 5.4.0-1151.158~18.04.1, 5.4.0-1149.158~18.04.1 +88
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 1 Apr 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: 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 26 Oct 2026.
What to do
Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.
Patches and advisories
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-7510-1 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-7510-2 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-7511-1 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-7511-2 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-7512-1 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-7516-1 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-7516-2 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-7517-1 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-7518-1 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-7510-3 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-7510-4 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-7510-5 (opens in a new tab)
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSlinuxpkg:deb/ubuntu/linux?arch=source&distro=nobleOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in
|
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSlinux-awspkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws?arch=source&distro=nobleOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in
|
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSlinux-azurepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure?arch=source&distro=nobleOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in
|
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSlinux-azure-6.11pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-6.11?arch=source&distro=nobleOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in
|
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSlinux-azure-nvidiapkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-nvidia?arch=source&distro=nobleOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in
|
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSlinux-gcppkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gcp?arch=source&distro=nobleOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in
|
Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ppp: Fix KMSAN uninit-value warning with bpf Syzbot caught an "KMSAN: uninit-value" warning [1], which is caused by the ppp driver not initializing a 2-byte header when using socket filter. The following code can generate a PPP filter BPF program: ''' struct bpf_program fp; pcap_t *handle; handle = pcap_open_dead(DLT_PPP_PPPD, 65535); pcap_compile(handle, &fp, "ip and outbound", 0, 0); bpf_dump(&fp, 1); ''' Its output is: ''' (000) ldh [2] (001) jeq #0x21 jt 2 jf 5 (002) ldb [0] (003) jeq #0x1 jt 4 jf 5 (004) ret #65535 (005) ret #0 ''' Wen can find similar code at the following link: https://github.com/ppp-project/ppp/blob/master/pppd/options.c#L1680 The maintainer of this code repository is also the original maintainer of the ppp driver. As you can see the BPF program skips 2 bytes of data and then reads the 'Protocol' field to determine if it's an IP packet. Then it read the first byte of the first 2 bytes to determine the direction. The issue is that only the first byte indicating direction is initialized in current ppp driver code while the second byte is not initialized. For normal BPF programs generated by libpcap, uninitialized data won't be used, so it's not a problem. However, for carefully crafted BPF programs, such as those generated by syzkaller [2], which start reading from offset 0, the uninitialized data will be used and caught by KMSAN. [1] https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=853242d9c9917165d791 [2] https://syzkaller.appspot.com/text?tag=ReproC&x=11994913980000
References
- ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2025-21922 (opens in a new tab)
- cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-21922 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/linus/4c2d14c40a68678d885eab4008a0129646805bae (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/1eacd47636a9de5bee25d9d5962dc538a82d9f0b (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/2f591cb158807bdcf424f66f1fbfa6e4e50f3757 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/3de809a768464528762757e433cd50de35bcb3c1 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/4c2d14c40a68678d885eab4008a0129646805bae (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/4e2191b0fd0c064d37b0db67396216f2d4787e0f (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/8aa8a40c766b3945b40565a70349d5581458ff63 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/c036f5f2680cbdabdbbace86baee3c83721634d6 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/d685096c8129c9a92689975193e268945fd21dbf (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-7510-1 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-7510-2 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-7511-1 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-7511-2 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-7512-1 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-7516-1 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-7516-2 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-7517-1 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-7518-1 (opens in a new tab)