CVE-2025-68245 (GCVE-0-2025-68245)
Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2025-12-16 14:21 – Updated: 2026-05-11 21:49
VLAI
EPSS
VEX
Title
net: netpoll: fix incorrect refcount handling causing incorrect cleanup
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net: netpoll: fix incorrect refcount handling causing incorrect cleanup
commit efa95b01da18 ("netpoll: fix use after free") incorrectly
ignored the refcount and prematurely set dev->npinfo to NULL during
netpoll cleanup, leading to improper behavior and memory leaks.
Scenario causing lack of proper cleanup:
1) A netpoll is associated with a NIC (e.g., eth0) and netdev->npinfo is
allocated, and refcnt = 1
- Keep in mind that npinfo is shared among all netpoll instances. In
this case, there is just one.
2) Another netpoll is also associated with the same NIC and
npinfo->refcnt += 1.
- Now dev->npinfo->refcnt = 2;
- There is just one npinfo associated to the netdev.
3) When the first netpolls goes to clean up:
- The first cleanup succeeds and clears np->dev->npinfo, ignoring
refcnt.
- It basically calls `RCU_INIT_POINTER(np->dev->npinfo, NULL);`
- Set dev->npinfo = NULL, without proper cleanup
- No ->ndo_netpoll_cleanup() is either called
4) Now the second target tries to clean up
- The second cleanup fails because np->dev->npinfo is already NULL.
* In this case, ops->ndo_netpoll_cleanup() was never called, and
the skb pool is not cleaned as well (for the second netpoll
instance)
- This leaks npinfo and skbpool skbs, which is clearly reported by
kmemleak.
Revert commit efa95b01da18 ("netpoll: fix use after free") and adds
clarifying comments emphasizing that npinfo cleanup should only happen
once the refcount reaches zero, ensuring stable and correct netpoll
behavior.
Severity
No CVSS data available.
Assigner
References
8 references
Impacted products
2 products
| Vendor | Product | Version | CPE status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux |
Affected:
efa95b01da18ad22af62f6d99a3243f3be8fd264 , < 8e6a50edad11e3e1426e4c29e7aa6201f3468ac2
(git)
Affected: efa95b01da18ad22af62f6d99a3243f3be8fd264 , < 9b0bb18b4b9dc017c1825a2c5e763615e34a1593 (git) Affected: efa95b01da18ad22af62f6d99a3243f3be8fd264 , < 890472d6fbf062e6de7fdd56642cb305ab79d669 (git) Affected: efa95b01da18ad22af62f6d99a3243f3be8fd264 , < 4afd4ebbad52aa146838ec23082ba393e426a2bb (git) Affected: efa95b01da18ad22af62f6d99a3243f3be8fd264 , < c645693180a98606c430825223d2029315d85e9d (git) Affected: efa95b01da18ad22af62f6d99a3243f3be8fd264 , < c79a6d9da29219616b118a3adce9a14cd30f9bd0 (git) Affected: efa95b01da18ad22af62f6d99a3243f3be8fd264 , < 9a51b5ccd1c79afec1c03a4e1e6688da52597556 (git) Affected: efa95b01da18ad22af62f6d99a3243f3be8fd264 , < 49c8d2c1f94cc2f4d1a108530d7ba52614b874c2 (git) |
guessed | |
| Linux | Linux |
Affected:
3.17
Unaffected: 0 , < 3.17 (semver) Unaffected: 5.4.302 , ≤ 5.4.* (semver) Unaffected: 5.10.247 , ≤ 5.10.* (semver) Unaffected: 5.15.197 , ≤ 5.15.* (semver) Unaffected: 6.1.159 , ≤ 6.1.* (semver) Unaffected: 6.6.117 , ≤ 6.6.* (semver) Unaffected: 6.12.59 , ≤ 6.12.* (semver) Unaffected: 6.17.9 , ≤ 6.17.* (semver) Unaffected: 6.18 , ≤ * (original_commit_for_fix) |
guessed |
{
"containers": {
"cna": {
"affected": [
{
"defaultStatus": "unaffected",
"product": "Linux",
"programFiles": [
"net/core/netpoll.c"
],
"repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
"vendor": "Linux",
"versions": [
{
"lessThan": "8e6a50edad11e3e1426e4c29e7aa6201f3468ac2",
"status": "affected",
"version": "efa95b01da18ad22af62f6d99a3243f3be8fd264",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"lessThan": "9b0bb18b4b9dc017c1825a2c5e763615e34a1593",
"status": "affected",
"version": "efa95b01da18ad22af62f6d99a3243f3be8fd264",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"lessThan": "890472d6fbf062e6de7fdd56642cb305ab79d669",
"status": "affected",
"version": "efa95b01da18ad22af62f6d99a3243f3be8fd264",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"lessThan": "4afd4ebbad52aa146838ec23082ba393e426a2bb",
"status": "affected",
"version": "efa95b01da18ad22af62f6d99a3243f3be8fd264",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"lessThan": "c645693180a98606c430825223d2029315d85e9d",
"status": "affected",
"version": "efa95b01da18ad22af62f6d99a3243f3be8fd264",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"lessThan": "c79a6d9da29219616b118a3adce9a14cd30f9bd0",
"status": "affected",
"version": "efa95b01da18ad22af62f6d99a3243f3be8fd264",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"lessThan": "9a51b5ccd1c79afec1c03a4e1e6688da52597556",
"status": "affected",
"version": "efa95b01da18ad22af62f6d99a3243f3be8fd264",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"lessThan": "49c8d2c1f94cc2f4d1a108530d7ba52614b874c2",
"status": "affected",
"version": "efa95b01da18ad22af62f6d99a3243f3be8fd264",
"versionType": "git"
}
]
},
{
"defaultStatus": "affected",
"product": "Linux",
"programFiles": [
"net/core/netpoll.c"
],
"repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
"vendor": "Linux",
"versions": [
{
"status": "affected",
"version": "3.17"
},
{
"lessThan": "3.17",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "0",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "5.4.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "5.4.302",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "5.10.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "5.10.247",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "5.15.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "5.15.197",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "6.1.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.1.159",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "6.6.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.6.117",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "6.12.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.12.59",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "6.17.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.17.9",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.18",
"versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"
}
]
}
],
"cpeApplicability": [
{
"nodes": [
{
"cpeMatch": [
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "5.4.302",
"versionStartIncluding": "3.17",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "5.10.247",
"versionStartIncluding": "3.17",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "5.15.197",
"versionStartIncluding": "3.17",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "6.1.159",
"versionStartIncluding": "3.17",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "6.6.117",
"versionStartIncluding": "3.17",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "6.12.59",
"versionStartIncluding": "3.17",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "6.17.9",
"versionStartIncluding": "3.17",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "6.18",
"versionStartIncluding": "3.17",
"vulnerable": true
}
],
"negate": false,
"operator": "OR"
}
]
}
],
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnet: netpoll: fix incorrect refcount handling causing incorrect cleanup\n\ncommit efa95b01da18 (\"netpoll: fix use after free\") incorrectly\nignored the refcount and prematurely set dev-\u003enpinfo to NULL during\nnetpoll cleanup, leading to improper behavior and memory leaks.\n\nScenario causing lack of proper cleanup:\n\n1) A netpoll is associated with a NIC (e.g., eth0) and netdev-\u003enpinfo is\n allocated, and refcnt = 1\n - Keep in mind that npinfo is shared among all netpoll instances. In\n this case, there is just one.\n\n2) Another netpoll is also associated with the same NIC and\n npinfo-\u003erefcnt += 1.\n - Now dev-\u003enpinfo-\u003erefcnt = 2;\n - There is just one npinfo associated to the netdev.\n\n3) When the first netpolls goes to clean up:\n - The first cleanup succeeds and clears np-\u003edev-\u003enpinfo, ignoring\n refcnt.\n - It basically calls `RCU_INIT_POINTER(np-\u003edev-\u003enpinfo, NULL);`\n - Set dev-\u003enpinfo = NULL, without proper cleanup\n - No -\u003endo_netpoll_cleanup() is either called\n\n4) Now the second target tries to clean up\n - The second cleanup fails because np-\u003edev-\u003enpinfo is already NULL.\n * In this case, ops-\u003endo_netpoll_cleanup() was never called, and\n the skb pool is not cleaned as well (for the second netpoll\n instance)\n - This leaks npinfo and skbpool skbs, which is clearly reported by\n kmemleak.\n\nRevert commit efa95b01da18 (\"netpoll: fix use after free\") and adds\nclarifying comments emphasizing that npinfo cleanup should only happen\nonce the refcount reaches zero, ensuring stable and correct netpoll\nbehavior."
}
],
"providerMetadata": {
"dateUpdated": "2026-05-11T21:49:38.460Z",
"orgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"shortName": "Linux"
},
"references": [
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8e6a50edad11e3e1426e4c29e7aa6201f3468ac2"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9b0bb18b4b9dc017c1825a2c5e763615e34a1593"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/890472d6fbf062e6de7fdd56642cb305ab79d669"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4afd4ebbad52aa146838ec23082ba393e426a2bb"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c645693180a98606c430825223d2029315d85e9d"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c79a6d9da29219616b118a3adce9a14cd30f9bd0"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9a51b5ccd1c79afec1c03a4e1e6688da52597556"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/49c8d2c1f94cc2f4d1a108530d7ba52614b874c2"
}
],
"title": "net: netpoll: fix incorrect refcount handling causing incorrect cleanup",
"x_generator": {
"engine": "bippy-1.2.0"
}
}
},
"cveMetadata": {
"assignerOrgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"assignerShortName": "Linux",
"cveId": "CVE-2025-68245",
"datePublished": "2025-12-16T14:21:22.348Z",
"dateReserved": "2025-12-16T13:41:40.264Z",
"dateUpdated": "2026-05-11T21:49:38.460Z",
"state": "PUBLISHED"
},
"dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
"dataVersion": "5.2",
"vulnerability-lookup:meta": {
"epss": {
"cve": "CVE-2025-68245",
"date": "2026-10-08",
"epss": "0.00201",
"percentile": "0.09159"
},
"nvd": {
"cve": {
"affected": [
{
"affectedData": [
{
"defaultStatus": "unaffected",
"product": "Linux",
"programFiles": [
"net/core/netpoll.c"
],
"repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
"vendor": "Linux",
"versions": [
{
"lessThan": "8e6a50edad11e3e1426e4c29e7aa6201f3468ac2",
"status": "affected",
"version": "efa95b01da18ad22af62f6d99a3243f3be8fd264",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"lessThan": "9b0bb18b4b9dc017c1825a2c5e763615e34a1593",
"status": "affected",
"version": "efa95b01da18ad22af62f6d99a3243f3be8fd264",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"lessThan": "890472d6fbf062e6de7fdd56642cb305ab79d669",
"status": "affected",
"version": "efa95b01da18ad22af62f6d99a3243f3be8fd264",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"lessThan": "4afd4ebbad52aa146838ec23082ba393e426a2bb",
"status": "affected",
"version": "efa95b01da18ad22af62f6d99a3243f3be8fd264",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"lessThan": "c645693180a98606c430825223d2029315d85e9d",
"status": "affected",
"version": "efa95b01da18ad22af62f6d99a3243f3be8fd264",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"lessThan": "c79a6d9da29219616b118a3adce9a14cd30f9bd0",
"status": "affected",
"version": "efa95b01da18ad22af62f6d99a3243f3be8fd264",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"lessThan": "9a51b5ccd1c79afec1c03a4e1e6688da52597556",
"status": "affected",
"version": "efa95b01da18ad22af62f6d99a3243f3be8fd264",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"lessThan": "49c8d2c1f94cc2f4d1a108530d7ba52614b874c2",
"status": "affected",
"version": "efa95b01da18ad22af62f6d99a3243f3be8fd264",
"versionType": "git"
}
]
},
{
"defaultStatus": "affected",
"product": "Linux",
"programFiles": [
"net/core/netpoll.c"
],
"repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
"vendor": "Linux",
"versions": [
{
"status": "affected",
"version": "3.17"
},
{
"lessThan": "3.17",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "0",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "5.4.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "5.4.302",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "5.10.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "5.10.247",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "5.15.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "5.15.197",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "6.1.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.1.159",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "6.6.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.6.117",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "6.12.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.12.59",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "6.17.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.17.9",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.18",
"versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"
}
]
}
],
"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"
}
],
"cveTags": [],
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnet: netpoll: fix incorrect refcount handling causing incorrect cleanup\n\ncommit efa95b01da18 (\"netpoll: fix use after free\") incorrectly\nignored the refcount and prematurely set dev-\u003enpinfo to NULL during\nnetpoll cleanup, leading to improper behavior and memory leaks.\n\nScenario causing lack of proper cleanup:\n\n1) A netpoll is associated with a NIC (e.g., eth0) and netdev-\u003enpinfo is\n allocated, and refcnt = 1\n - Keep in mind that npinfo is shared among all netpoll instances. In\n this case, there is just one.\n\n2) Another netpoll is also associated with the same NIC and\n npinfo-\u003erefcnt += 1.\n - Now dev-\u003enpinfo-\u003erefcnt = 2;\n - There is just one npinfo associated to the netdev.\n\n3) When the first netpolls goes to clean up:\n - The first cleanup succeeds and clears np-\u003edev-\u003enpinfo, ignoring\n refcnt.\n - It basically calls `RCU_INIT_POINTER(np-\u003edev-\u003enpinfo, NULL);`\n - Set dev-\u003enpinfo = NULL, without proper cleanup\n - No -\u003endo_netpoll_cleanup() is either called\n\n4) Now the second target tries to clean up\n - The second cleanup fails because np-\u003edev-\u003enpinfo is already NULL.\n * In this case, ops-\u003endo_netpoll_cleanup() was never called, and\n the skb pool is not cleaned as well (for the second netpoll\n instance)\n - This leaks npinfo and skbpool skbs, which is clearly reported by\n kmemleak.\n\nRevert commit efa95b01da18 (\"netpoll: fix use after free\") and adds\nclarifying comments emphasizing that npinfo cleanup should only happen\nonce the refcount reaches zero, ensuring stable and correct netpoll\nbehavior."
}
],
"id": "CVE-2025-68245",
"lastModified": "2026-06-17T09:58:47.977",
"metrics": {},
"published": "2025-12-16T15:15:53.767",
"references": [
{
"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/49c8d2c1f94cc2f4d1a108530d7ba52614b874c2"
},
{
"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4afd4ebbad52aa146838ec23082ba393e426a2bb"
},
{
"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/890472d6fbf062e6de7fdd56642cb305ab79d669"
},
{
"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8e6a50edad11e3e1426e4c29e7aa6201f3468ac2"
},
{
"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9a51b5ccd1c79afec1c03a4e1e6688da52597556"
},
{
"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9b0bb18b4b9dc017c1825a2c5e763615e34a1593"
},
{
"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c645693180a98606c430825223d2029315d85e9d"
},
{
"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c79a6d9da29219616b118a3adce9a14cd30f9bd0"
}
],
"sourceIdentifier": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"vulnStatus": "Deferred"
}
},
"redhat_vex": {
"aggregate_severity": "Moderate",
"current_release_date": "2026-06-30T01:39:54+00:00",
"cve": "CVE-2025-68245",
"id": "CVE-2025-68245",
"initial_release_date": "2025-12-16T00:00:00+00:00",
"product_status:known_affected": "246",
"product_status:known_not_affected": "28",
"source": "Red Hat CSAF VEX",
"status": "final",
"title": "kernel: Linux kernel: Denial of Service due to memory leak in netpoll during cleanup",
"url": "https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2025/cve-2025-68245.json",
"version": "3"
},
"suse_vex": {
"aggregate_severity": "moderate",
"current_release_date": "2026-10-02T00:13:42Z",
"cve": "CVE-2025-68245",
"id": "CVE-2025-68245",
"initial_release_date": "2025-12-17T00:24:32Z",
"product_status:known_affected": "806",
"product_status:known_not_affected": "6",
"product_status:recommended": "326",
"source": "SUSE CSAF VEX",
"status": "interim",
"title": "SUSE CVE CVE-2025-68245",
"url": "https://ftp.suse.com/pub/projects/security/csaf-vex/cve-2025-68245.json",
"version": "37"
}
}
}
Loading…
Loading…
Experimental. This forecast is provided for visualization only and may change without notice. Do not use it for operational decisions.
Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
Loading…
Loading…
The MITRE ATT&CK techniques below are AI-generated suggestions, inferred from the description of the
vulnerability by the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-classification-roberta-base
model, served locally by ML-Gateway.
They have not been verified by an analyst and are provided for guidance only.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
Browse all ATT&CK techniques and the vulnerabilities related to each.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
Browse all ATT&CK techniques and the vulnerabilities related to each.
Loading…
Related by attack behaviour
Vulnerabilities whose description is nearest to this one in the vector space of the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-biencoder model. This is a similarity search over the bi-encoder space (plain cosine), not a classification, and it has no measured accuracy.
Loading…