CVE-2025-68213 idpf: fix possible vport_config NULL pointer deref in remove
A local attacker with high privileges can cause a kernel crash by removing the idpf driver when virtual function initialization fails.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- An administrator
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2025-68213?
CVE-2025-68213 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 16 Dec 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:
idpf: fix possible vport_config NULL pointer deref in remove
Attempting to remove the driver will cause a crash in cases where the vport failed to initialize. Following trace is from an instance where the driver failed during an attempt to create a VF: [ 1661.543624] idpf 0000:84:00.7: Device HW Reset initiated [ 1722.923726] idpf 0000:84:00.7: Transaction timed-out (op:1 cookie:2900 vc_op:1 salt:29 timeout:60000ms) [ 1723.353263] BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000028 ... [ 1723.358472] RIP: 0010:idpf_remove+0x11c/0x200 [idpf] ... [ 1723.364973] Call Trace: [ 1723.365475] <TASK> [ 1723.365972] pci_device_remove+0x42/0xb0 [ 1723.366481] device_release_driver_internal+0x1a9/0x210 [ 1723.366987] pci_stop_bus_device+0x6d/0x90 [ 1723.367488] pci_stop_and_remove_bus_device+0x12/0x20 [ 1723.367971] pci_iov_remove_virtfn+0xbd/0x120 [ 1723.368309] sriov_disable+0x34/0xe0 [ 1723.368643] idpf_sriov_configure+0x58/0x140 [idpf] [ 1723.368982] sriov_numvfs_store+0xda/0x1c0
Avoid the NULL pointer dereference by adding NULL pointer check for vport_config[i], before freeing user_config.q_coalesce.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-68213?
How do I fix CVE-2025-68213?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2025-68213 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-68213 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2025-68213, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-68213, GHSA-8284-3j42-5wj5, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2025-68213, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-68213, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-68213.