# CVE-2025-21787: team: better TEAM_OPTION_TYPE_STRING validation > A missing null-byte validation in the Linux kernel team driver allows local attackers to read uninitialized memory via netlink messages. - **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:** 27 Feb 2025 - **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026 - **Also known as:** AZL-57836, AZL-57935, BELL-CVE-2025-21787, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-21787, GHSA-mh6r-68r2-78qw, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-21787, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-21787 ## What is CVE-2025-21787? CVE-2025-21787 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 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: team: better TEAM_OPTION_TYPE_STRING validation syzbot reported following splat [1] Make sure user-provided data contains one nul byte. [1] BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in string_nocheck lib/vsprintf.c:633 [inline] BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in string+0x3ec/0x5f0 lib/vsprintf.c:714 string_nocheck lib/vsprintf.c:633 [inline] string+0x3ec/0x5f0 lib/vsprintf.c:714 vsnprintf+0xa5d/0x1960 lib/vsprintf.c:2843 __request_module+0x252/0x9f0 kernel/module/kmod.c:149 team_mode_get drivers/net/team/team_core.c:480 [inline] team_change_mode drivers/net/team/team_core.c:607 [inline] team_mode_option_set+0x437/0x970 drivers/net/team/team_core.c:1401 team_option_set drivers/net/team/team_core.c:375 [inline] team_nl_options_set_doit+0x1339/0x1f90 drivers/net/team/team_core.c:2662 genl_family_rcv_msg_doit net/netlink/genetlink.c:1115 [inline] genl_family_rcv_msg net/netlink/genetlink.c:1195 [inline] genl_rcv_msg+0x1214/0x12c0 net/netlink/genetlink.c:1210 netlink_rcv_skb+0x375/0x650 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2543 genl_rcv+0x40/0x60 net/netlink/genetlink.c:1219 netlink_unicast_kernel net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1322 [inline] netlink_unicast+0xf52/0x1260 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1348 netlink_sendmsg+0x10da/0x11e0 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1892 sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:718 [inline] __sock_sendmsg+0x30f/0x380 net/socket.c:733 ____sys_sendmsg+0x877/0xb60 net/socket.c:2573 ___sys_sendmsg+0x28d/0x3c0 net/socket.c:2627 __sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2659 [inline] __do_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2664 [inline] __se_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2662 [inline] __x64_sys_sendmsg+0x212/0x3c0 net/socket.c:2662 x64_sys_call+0x2ed6/0x3c30 arch/x86/include/generated/asm/syscalls_64.h:47 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:52 [inline] do_syscall_64+0xcd/0x1e0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:83 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f Weakness: CWE-908 (Use of Uninitialized Resource) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-21787? It affects 1 product. Products: Linux kernel. ## How do I fix CVE-2025-21787? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2025-21787 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-21787 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-2025-21787 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2025-21787 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 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-2025-21787 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-2025-21787/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-21787/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-21787 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-21787 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-21787 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-21787/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.