# CVE-2025-21693: mm: zswap: properly synchronize freeing resources during CPU hotunplug

> A use-after-free in the Linux kernel zswap subsystem during CPU hotunplug allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code or escalate privileges.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 10 Feb 2025
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-58989, AZL-59094, BELL-CVE-2025-21693, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-21693, GHSA-jqr2-rwpf-xrf3, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2025-21693, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2025-21693, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-21693, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-21693

## What is CVE-2025-21693?

CVE-2025-21693 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 10 Feb 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

mm: zswap: properly synchronize freeing resources during CPU hotunplug

In zswap_compress() and zswap_decompress(), the per-CPU acomp_ctx of the
current CPU at the beginning of the operation is retrieved and used
throughout.  However, since neither preemption nor migration are disabled,
it is possible that the operation continues on a different CPU.

If the original CPU is hotunplugged while the acomp_ctx is still in use,
we run into a UAF bug as some of the resources attached to the acomp_ctx
are freed during hotunplug in zswap_cpu_comp_dead() (i.e. 
acomp_ctx.buffer, acomp_ctx.req, or acomp_ctx.acomp).

The problem was introduced in commit 1ec3b5fe6eec ("mm/zswap: move to use
crypto_acomp API for hardware acceleration") when the switch to the
crypto_acomp API was made.  Prior to that, the per-CPU crypto_comp was
retrieved using get_cpu_ptr() which disables preemption and makes sure the
CPU cannot go away from under us.  Preemption cannot be disabled with the
crypto_acomp API as a sleepable context is needed.

Use the acomp_ctx.mutex to synchronize CPU hotplug callbacks allocating
and freeing resources with compression/decompression paths.  Make sure
that acomp_ctx.req is NULL when the resources are freed.  In the
compression/decompression paths, check if acomp_ctx.req is NULL after
acquiring the mutex (meaning the CPU was offlined) and retry on the new
CPU.

The initialization of acomp_ctx.mutex is moved from the CPU hotplug
callback to the pool initialization where it belongs (where the mutex is
allocated).  In addition to adding clarity, this makes sure that CPU
hotplug cannot reinitialize a mutex that is already locked by
compression/decompression.

Previously a fix was attempted by holding cpus_read_lock() [1].  This
would have caused a potential deadlock as it is possible for code already
holding the lock to fall into reclaim and enter zswap (causing a
deadlock).  A fix was also attempted using SRCU for synchronization, but
Johannes pointed out that synchronize_srcu() cannot be used in CPU hotplug
notifiers [2].

Alternative fixes that were considered/attempted and could have worked:
- Refcounting the per-CPU acomp_ctx. This involves complexity in
  handling the race between the refcount dropping to zero in
  zswap_[de]compress() and the refcount being re-initialized when the
  CPU is onlined.
- Disabling migration before getting the per-CPU acomp_ctx [3], but
  that's discouraged and is a much bigger hammer than needed, and could
  result in subtle performance issues.

[1]https://lkml.kernel.org/20241219212437.2714151-1-yosryahmed@google.com/
[2]https://lkml.kernel.org/20250107074724.1756696-2-yosryahmed@google.com/
[3]https://lkml.kernel.org/20250107222236.2715883-2-yosryahmed@google.com/

[yosryahmed@google.com: remove comment]

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-21693?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-21693?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-21693 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-21693 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-21693 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-21693 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 10 Feb 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-21693 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-21693/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-21693/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-21693
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-21693
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-21693

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-21693/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.