CVE-2025-21971: Linux kernel · net_sched: Prevent creation of classes with TC_H_ROOT
Source GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium.
Data as of 29 Oct 2026, 22:52 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 1 Apr 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.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net_sched: Prevent creation of classes with TC_H_ROOT The function qdisc_tree_reduce_backlog() uses TC_H_ROOT as a termination condition when traversing up the qdisc tree to update parent backlog counters. However, if a class is created with classid TC_H_ROOT, the traversal terminates prematurely at this class instead of reaching the actual root qdisc, causing parent statistics to be incorrectly maintained. In case of DRR, this could lead to a crash as reported by Mingi Cho. Prevent the creation of any Qdisc class with classid TC_H_ROOT (0xFFFFFFFF) across all qdisc types, as suggested by Jamal.
References
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-21971 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/003d92c91cdb5a64b25a9a74cb8543aac9a8bb48 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/0c3057a5a04d07120b3d0ec9c79568fceb9c921e (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/5c3ca9cb48b51bd72bf76b8b05e24f3cd53db5e7 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/78533c4a29ac3aeddce4b481770beaaa4f3bfb67 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/7a82fe67a9f4d7123d8e5ba8f0f0806c28695006 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/94edfdfb9505ab608e86599d1d1e38c83816fc1c (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/e05d9938b1b0ac40b6054cc5fa0ccbd9afd5ed4c (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/e5ee00607bbfc97ef1526ea95b6b2458ac9e7cb7 (opens in a new tab)
- lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00030.html (opens in a new tab)
- lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00045.html (opens in a new tab)