# CVE-2025-21852: net: Add rx_skb of kfree_skb to raw_tp_null_args[].

> A missing null check in the Linux kernel's BPF tracepoint for kfree_skb allows a local attacker to cause a kernel crash via a crafted BPF program.

- **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:** 12 Mar 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2025-21852, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-21852, GHSA-g33r-c4mc-9962, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-21852

## What is CVE-2025-21852?

CVE-2025-21852 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 12 Mar 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:

net: Add rx_skb of kfree_skb to raw_tp_null_args[].

Yan Zhai reported a BPF prog could trigger a null-ptr-deref [0]
in trace_kfree_skb if the prog does not check if rx_sk is NULL.

Commit c53795d48ee8 ("net: add rx_sk to trace_kfree_skb") added
rx_sk to trace_kfree_skb, but rx_sk is optional and could be NULL.

Let's add kfree_skb to raw_tp_null_args[] to let the BPF verifier
validate such a prog and prevent the issue.

Now we fail to load such a prog:

  libbpf: prog 'drop': -- BEGIN PROG LOAD LOG --
  0: R1=ctx() R10=fp0
  ; int BPF_PROG(drop, struct sk_buff *skb, void *location, @ kfree_skb_sk_null.bpf.c:21
  0: (79) r3 = *(u64 *)(r1 +24)
  func 'kfree_skb' arg3 has btf_id 5253 type STRUCT 'sock'
  1: R1=ctx() R3_w=trusted_ptr_or_null_sock(id=1)
  ; bpf_printk("sk: %d, %d\n", sk, sk->__sk_common.skc_family); @ kfree_skb_sk_null.bpf.c:24
  1: (69) r4 = *(u16 *)(r3 +16)
  R3 invalid mem access 'trusted_ptr_or_null_'
  processed 2 insns (limit 1000000) max_states_per_insn 0 total_states 0 peak_states 0 mark_read 0
  -- END PROG LOAD LOG --

Note this fix requires commit 838a10bd2ebf ("bpf: Augment raw_tp
arguments with PTR_MAYBE_NULL").

[0]:
BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000010
 PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode
 PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page
PGD 0 P4D 0
PREEMPT SMP
RIP: 0010:bpf_prog_5e21a6db8fcff1aa_drop+0x10/0x2d
Call Trace:
 <TASK>
 ? __die+0x1f/0x60
 ? page_fault_oops+0x148/0x420
 ? search_bpf_extables+0x5b/0x70
 ? fixup_exception+0x27/0x2c0
 ? exc_page_fault+0x75/0x170
 ? asm_exc_page_fault+0x22/0x30
 ? bpf_prog_5e21a6db8fcff1aa_drop+0x10/0x2d
 bpf_trace_run4+0x68/0xd0
 ? unix_stream_connect+0x1f4/0x6f0
 sk_skb_reason_drop+0x90/0x120
 unix_stream_connect+0x1f4/0x6f0
 __sys_connect+0x7f/0xb0
 __x64_sys_connect+0x14/0x20
 do_syscall_64+0x47/0xc30
 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-21852?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-21852?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-21852 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-21852 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-2025-21852 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-21852 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 12 Mar 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-2025-21852 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-2025-21852/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-21852/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-21852
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-21852
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-21852

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-21852/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.