CVE-2025-38019 mlxsw: spectrum_router: Fix use-after-free when deleting GRE net devices
A use-after-free in the Linux kernel mlxsw driver allows attackers to cause denial of service or execute code via crafted network device deletion.
- 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
What is CVE-2025-38019?
CVE-2025-38019 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 18 Jun 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:
mlxsw: spectrum_router: Fix use-after-free when deleting GRE net devices
The driver only offloads neighbors that are constructed on top of net devices registered by it or their uppers (which are all Ethernet). The device supports GRE encapsulation and decapsulation of forwarded traffic, but the driver will not offload dummy neighbors constructed on top of GRE net devices as they are not uppers of its net devices:
# ip link add name gre1 up type gre tos inherit local 192.0.2.1 remote 198.51.100.1 # ip neigh add 0.0.0.0 lladdr 0.0.0.0 nud noarp dev gre1 $ ip neigh show dev gre1 nud noarp 0.0.0.0 lladdr 0.0.0.0 NOARP
(Note that the neighbor is not marked with 'offload')
When the driver is reloaded and the existing configuration is replayed, the driver does not perform the same check regarding existing neighbors and offloads the previously added one:
# devlink dev reload pci/0000:01:00.0 $ ip neigh show dev gre1 nud noarp 0.0.0.0 lladdr 0.0.0.0 offload NOARP
If the neighbor is later deleted, the driver will ignore the notification (given the GRE net device is not its upper) and will therefore keep referencing freed memory, resulting in a use-after-free [1] when the net device is deleted:
# ip neigh del 0.0.0.0 lladdr 0.0.0.0 dev gre1 # ip link del dev gre1
Fix by skipping neighbor replay if the net device for which the replay is performed is not our upper.
[1] BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in mlxsw_sp_neigh_entry_update+0x1ea/0x200 Read of size 8 at addr ffff888155b0e420 by task ip/2282 [...] Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x6f/0xa0 print_address_description.constprop.0+0x6f/0x350 print_report+0x108/0x205 kasan_report+0xdf/0x110 mlxsw_sp_neigh_entry_update+0x1ea/0x200 mlxsw_sp_router_rif_gone_sync+0x2a8/0x440 mlxsw_sp_rif_destroy+0x1e9/0x750 mlxsw_sp_netdevice_ipip_ol_event+0x3c9/0xdc0 mlxsw_sp_router_netdevice_event+0x3ac/0x15e0 notifier_call_chain+0xca/0x150 call_netdevice_notifiers_info+0x7f/0x100 unregister_netdevice_many_notify+0xc8c/0x1d90 rtnl_dellink+0x34e/0xa50 rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x6fb/0xb70 netlink_rcv_skb+0x131/0x360 netlink_unicast+0x426/0x710 netlink_sendmsg+0x75a/0xc20 __sock_sendmsg+0xc1/0x150 ____sys_sendmsg+0x5aa/0x7b0 ___sys_sendmsg+0xfc/0x180 __sys_sendmsg+0x121/0x1b0 do_syscall_64+0xbb/0x1d0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53
Weakness: CWE-416
Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-38019?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2025-38019?
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-2025-38019 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-38019 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2025-38019, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-38019, GHSA-cpc7-gmm2-93c8, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-38019, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-38019.