CVE-2025-22085 is a high-severity vulnerability identified in the Linux kernel, specifically within the RDMA (Remote Direct Memory Access) core subsystem. The vulnerability is a use-after-free bug occurring during the renaming of device names in the RDMA driver stack. The issue was discovered and reported by Syzbot, an automated kernel fuzzer, which detected a slab-use-after-free condition in the nla_put function of the netlink attribute library (lib/nlattr.c). This function is responsible for constructing netlink messages, which are used for kernel-user space communication. The use-after-free occurs when the kernel attempts to rename an RDMA device, leading to a scenario where memory that has already been freed is accessed again. This can cause memory corruption, kernel crashes, or potentially arbitrary code execution within the kernel context. The vulnerability is tracked under CWE-416 (Use After Free), which is a common and dangerous class of memory corruption bugs. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 7.8, indicating a high severity level. The vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H indicates that the attack requires local access with low privileges and no user interaction, but can lead to high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The vulnerability affects Linux kernel versions including the 6.14.0-rc4 release candidate and likely other versions containing the affected RDMA code. The detailed call trace shows the sequence of kernel functions leading to the use-after-free, involving RDMA device registration and netlink message handling. Although no known exploits are currently in the wild, the nature of the bug and its impact suggest that exploitation could allow a local attacker to escalate privileges or cause denial of service by crashing the kernel. The vulnerability has been resolved in recent kernel updates, but no direct patch links are provided in the data. Organizations running Linux kernels with RDMA support, especially in environments using Infiniband or similar high-performance networking, are at risk if they have not applied the fix.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-22085 can be significant, particularly for enterprises and research institutions relying on Linux servers with RDMA capabilities. RDMA is commonly used in high-performance computing (HPC), data centers, cloud infrastructure, and financial services for low-latency, high-throughput networking. Exploitation of this vulnerability could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data, disruption of critical services, and potential compromise of entire systems due to kernel-level code execution. This could affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data and services. Given the high severity and local attack vector, insider threats or attackers with limited access could leverage this bug to escalate privileges. The disruption could impact sectors such as finance, telecommunications, research, and cloud service providers, which are prevalent in Europe. Additionally, the vulnerability could affect virtualized environments and cloud platforms running Linux kernels with RDMA support, which are widely used by European organizations. The lack of known exploits currently reduces immediate risk, but the potential for future exploitation necessitates prompt mitigation.

European organizations should take the following specific mitigation steps: 1) Identify all Linux systems running kernels with RDMA support, especially those using Infiniband or similar technologies. 2) Verify kernel versions and apply the latest stable Linux kernel updates that include the fix for CVE-2025-22085. Since no direct patch links are provided, organizations should monitor official Linux kernel mailing lists and vendor advisories for patches. 3) If immediate patching is not possible, consider disabling RDMA support or the affected RDMA drivers (e.g., rxe, infiniband core modules) temporarily to mitigate risk. 4) Restrict local access to trusted users only, as exploitation requires local privileges. 5) Employ kernel hardening techniques such as Kernel Address Sanitizer (KASAN) and other memory safety tools during development and testing to detect similar issues early. 6) Monitor system logs and kernel crash reports for signs of exploitation attempts or instability related to RDMA device operations. 7) For cloud environments, coordinate with cloud service providers to ensure underlying infrastructure is patched. 8) Conduct security awareness training for system administrators about the risks of local privilege escalation vulnerabilities and the importance of timely patching.