# CVE-2025-21921: net: ethtool: netlink: Allow NULL nlattrs when getting a phy_device

> A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel ethtool netlink subsystem allows local attackers to cause a system crash via specific PLCA commands.

- **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:** 1 Apr 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2025-21921, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-21921, GHSA-qc6x-3767-556f, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-21921

## What is CVE-2025-21921?

CVE-2025-21921 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 1 Apr 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: ethtool: netlink: Allow NULL nlattrs when getting a phy_device

ethnl_req_get_phydev() is used to lookup a phy_device, in the case an
ethtool netlink command targets a specific phydev within a netdev's
topology.

It takes as a parameter a const struct nlattr *header that's used for
error handling :

       if (!phydev) {
               NL_SET_ERR_MSG_ATTR(extack, header,
                                   "no phy matching phyindex");
               return ERR_PTR(-ENODEV);
       }

In the notify path after a ->set operation however, there's no request
attributes available.

The typical callsite for the above function looks like:

	phydev = ethnl_req_get_phydev(req_base, tb[ETHTOOL_A_XXX_HEADER],
				      info->extack);

So, when tb is NULL (such as in the ethnl notify path), we have a nice
crash.

It turns out that there's only the PLCA command that is in that case, as
the other phydev-specific commands don't have a notification.

This commit fixes the crash by passing the cmd index and the nlattr
array separately, allowing NULL-checking it directly inside the helper.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-21921?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-21921?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-21921 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-21921 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-2025-21921 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-21921 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 1 Apr 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-2025-21921 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-2025-21921/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-21921/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-21921
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-21921
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-21921

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-21921/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.