# CVE-2025-21983: mm/slab/kvfree_rcu: Switch to WQ_MEM_RECLAIM wq > A kernel warning in kvfree_rcu can lead to system instability or crashes, requiring a patch to switch workqueue flags. - **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:** 11 May 2026 - **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2025-21983, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-21983, GHSA-jxrr-3gxj-w229, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-21983 ## What is CVE-2025-21983? CVE-2025-21983 is a high-severity denial of service 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: mm/slab/kvfree_rcu: Switch to WQ_MEM_RECLAIM wq Currently kvfree_rcu() APIs use a system workqueue which is "system_unbound_wq" to driver RCU machinery to reclaim a memory. Recently, it has been noted that the following kernel warning can be observed: workqueue: WQ_MEM_RECLAIM nvme-wq:nvme_scan_work is flushing !WQ_MEM_RECLAIM events_unbound:kfree_rcu_work WARNING: CPU: 21 PID: 330 at kernel/workqueue.c:3719 check_flush_dependency+0x112/0x120 Modules linked in: intel_uncore_frequency(E) intel_uncore_frequency_common(E) skx_edac(E) ... CPU: 21 UID: 0 PID: 330 Comm: kworker/u144:6 Tainted: G E 6.13.2-0_g925d379822da #1 Hardware name: Wiwynn Twin Lakes MP/Twin Lakes Passive MP, BIOS YMM20 02/01/2023 Workqueue: nvme-wq nvme_scan_work RIP: 0010:check_flush_dependency+0x112/0x120 Code: 05 9a 40 14 02 01 48 81 c6 c0 00 00 00 48 8b 50 18 48 81 c7 c0 00 00 00 48 89 f9 48 ... RSP: 0018:ffffc90000df7bd8 EFLAGS: 00010082 RAX: 000000000000006a RBX: ffffffff81622390 RCX: 0000000000000027 RDX: 00000000fffeffff RSI: 000000000057ffa8 RDI: ffff88907f960c88 RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: ffffffff83068e50 R09: 000000000002fffd R10: 0000000000000004 R11: 0000000000000000 R12: ffff8881001a4400 R13: 0000000000000000 R14: ffff88907f420fb8 R15: 0000000000000000 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff88907f940000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CR2: 00007f60c3001000 CR3: 000000107d010005 CR4: 00000000007726f0 PKRU: 55555554 Call Trace: ? __warn+0xa4/0x140 ? check_flush_dependency+0x112/0x120 ? report_bug+0xe1/0x140 ? check_flush_dependency+0x112/0x120 ? handle_bug+0x5e/0x90 ? exc_invalid_op+0x16/0x40 ? asm_exc_invalid_op+0x16/0x20 ? timer_recalc_next_expiry+0x190/0x190 ? check_flush_dependency+0x112/0x120 ? check_flush_dependency+0x112/0x120 __flush_work.llvm.1643880146586177030+0x174/0x2c0 flush_rcu_work+0x28/0x30 kvfree_rcu_barrier+0x12f/0x160 kmem_cache_destroy+0x18/0x120 bioset_exit+0x10c/0x150 disk_release.llvm.6740012984264378178+0x61/0xd0 device_release+0x4f/0x90 kobject_put+0x95/0x180 nvme_put_ns+0x23/0xc0 nvme_remove_invalid_namespaces+0xb3/0xd0 nvme_scan_work+0x342/0x490 process_scheduled_works+0x1a2/0x370 worker_thread+0x2ff/0x390 ? pwq_release_workfn+0x1e0/0x1e0 kthread+0xb1/0xe0 ? __kthread_parkme+0x70/0x70 ret_from_fork+0x30/0x40 ? __kthread_parkme+0x70/0x70 ret_from_fork_asm+0x11/0x20 ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- To address this switch to use of independent WQ_MEM_RECLAIM workqueue, so the rules are not violated from workqueue framework point of view. Apart of that, since kvfree_rcu() does reclaim memory it is worth to go with WQ_MEM_RECLAIM type of wq because it is designed for this purpose. ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-21983? It affects 1 product. Products: Linux kernel. ## How do I fix CVE-2025-21983? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2025-21983 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-21983 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-2025-21983 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2025-21983 is a high-severity denial of service 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-2025-21983 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-2025-21983/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-21983/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-21983 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-21983 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-21983 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-21983/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.