CVE-2025-21867 bpf, test_run: Fix use-after-free issue in eth_skb_pkt_type()

What is CVE-2025-21867?

CVE-2025-21867 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 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:

bpf, test_run: Fix use-after-free issue in eth_skb_pkt_type()

KMSAN reported a use-after-free issue in eth_skb_pkt_type()[1]. The cause of the issue was that eth_skb_pkt_type() accessed skb's data that didn't contain an Ethernet header. This occurs when bpf_prog_test_run_xdp() passes an invalid value as the user_data argument to bpf_test_init().

Fix this by returning an error when user_data is less than ETH_HLEN in bpf_test_init(). Additionally, remove the check for "if (user_size > size)" as it is unnecessary.

[1] BUG: KMSAN: use-after-free in eth_skb_pkt_type include/linux/etherdevice.h:627 [inline] BUG: KMSAN: use-after-free in eth_type_trans+0x4ee/0x980 net/ethernet/eth.c:165 eth_skb_pkt_type include/linux/etherdevice.h:627 [inline] eth_type_trans+0x4ee/0x980 net/ethernet/eth.c:165 __xdp_build_skb_from_frame+0x5a8/0xa50 net/core/xdp.c:635 xdp_recv_frames net/bpf/test_run.c:272 [inline] xdp_test_run_batch net/bpf/test_run.c:361 [inline] bpf_test_run_xdp_live+0x2954/0x3330 net/bpf/test_run.c:390 bpf_prog_test_run_xdp+0x148e/0x1b10 net/bpf/test_run.c:1318 bpf_prog_test_run+0x5b7/0xa30 kernel/bpf/syscall.c:4371 __sys_bpf+0x6a6/0xe20 kernel/bpf/syscall.c:5777 __do_sys_bpf kernel/bpf/syscall.c:5866 [inline] __se_sys_bpf kernel/bpf/syscall.c:5864 [inline] __x64_sys_bpf+0xa4/0xf0 kernel/bpf/syscall.c:5864 x64_sys_call+0x2ea0/0x3d90 arch/x86/include/generated/asm/syscalls_64.h:322 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:52 [inline] do_syscall_64+0xd9/0x1d0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:83 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f

Uninit was created at: free_pages_prepare mm/page_alloc.c:1056 [inline] free_unref_page+0x156/0x1320 mm/page_alloc.c:2657 __free_pages+0xa3/0x1b0 mm/page_alloc.c:4838 bpf_ringbuf_free kernel/bpf/ringbuf.c:226 [inline] ringbuf_map_free+0xff/0x1e0 kernel/bpf/ringbuf.c:235 bpf_map_free kernel/bpf/syscall.c:838 [inline] bpf_map_free_deferred+0x17c/0x310 kernel/bpf/syscall.c:862 process_one_work kernel/workqueue.c:3229 [inline] process_scheduled_works+0xa2b/0x1b60 kernel/workqueue.c:3310 worker_thread+0xedf/0x1550 kernel/workqueue.c:3391 kthread+0x535/0x6b0 kernel/kthread.c:389 ret_from_fork+0x6e/0x90 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:147 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:244

CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 17276 Comm: syz.1.16450 Not tainted 6.12.0-05490-g9bb88c659673 #8 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.16.3-3.fc41 04/01/2014

Weakness: CWE-416

Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-21867?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2025-21867?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Upgrade to the fixed version. These bugs are found with fuzzing and sanitisers and avoided by memory-safe languages. More about Use after free.

Is CVE-2025-21867 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-21867 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

• CVE-2026-53266 Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2013-6282 Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2022-0185 Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2013-2094 Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2026-53362 Linux Kernel Unspecified Exploited High 7.8

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as BELL-CVE-2025-21867, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-21867, GHSA-g779-v36v-3w99, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-21867, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-21867.