# CVE-2025-21926: net: gso: fix ownership in __udp_gso_segment

> A missing socket reference cleanup in Linux kernel UDP segmentation causes a kernel bug and system crash when specific OpenVSwitch actions are used.

- **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:** 1 Apr 2025
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2025-21926, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-21926, GHSA-jwp5-c35f-qv38, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-21926, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-21926

## What is CVE-2025-21926?

CVE-2025-21926 is a high-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: gso: fix ownership in __udp_gso_segment

In __udp_gso_segment the skb destructor is removed before segmenting the
skb but the socket reference is kept as-is. This is an issue if the
original skb is later orphaned as we can hit the following bug:

  kernel BUG at ./include/linux/skbuff.h:3312!  (skb_orphan)
  RIP: 0010:ip_rcv_core+0x8b2/0xca0
  Call Trace:
   ip_rcv+0xab/0x6e0
   __netif_receive_skb_one_core+0x168/0x1b0
   process_backlog+0x384/0x1100
   __napi_poll.constprop.0+0xa1/0x370
   net_rx_action+0x925/0xe50

The above can happen following a sequence of events when using
OpenVSwitch, when an OVS_ACTION_ATTR_USERSPACE action precedes an
OVS_ACTION_ATTR_OUTPUT action:

1. OVS_ACTION_ATTR_USERSPACE is handled (in do_execute_actions): the skb
   goes through queue_gso_packets and then __udp_gso_segment, where its
   destructor is removed.
2. The segments' data are copied and sent to userspace.
3. OVS_ACTION_ATTR_OUTPUT is handled (in do_execute_actions) and the
   same original skb is sent to its path.
4. If it later hits skb_orphan, we hit the bug.

Fix this by also removing the reference to the socket in
__udp_gso_segment.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-21926?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-21926?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-21926 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-21926 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-2025-21926 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-21926 is a high-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-2025-21926 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-2025-21926/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-21926/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-21926
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-21926
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-21926

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-21926/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.