CVE-2025-68265 nvme: fix admin request_queue lifetime
A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel NVMe driver allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code or escalate privileges via crafted ioctl calls.
- 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-2025-68265?
CVE-2025-68265 is a high-severity use after free 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:
nvme: fix admin request_queue lifetime
The namespaces can access the controller's admin request_queue, and stale references on the namespaces may exist after tearing down the controller. Ensure the admin request_queue is active by moving the controller's 'put' to after all controller references have been released to ensure no one is can access the request_queue. This fixes a reported use-after-free bug:
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in blk_queue_enter+0x41c/0x4a0 Read of size 8 at addr ffff88c0a53819f8 by task nvme/3287 CPU: 67 UID: 0 PID: 3287 Comm: nvme Tainted: G E 6.13.2-ga1582f1a031e #15 Tainted: [E]=UNSIGNED_MODULE Hardware name: Jabil /EGS 2S MB1, BIOS 1.00 06/18/2025 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x4f/0x60 print_report+0xc4/0x620 ? _raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x70/0xb0 ? _raw_read_unlock_irqrestore+0x30/0x30 ? blk_queue_enter+0x41c/0x4a0 kasan_report+0xab/0xe0 ? blk_queue_enter+0x41c/0x4a0 blk_queue_enter+0x41c/0x4a0 ? __irq_work_queue_local+0x75/0x1d0 ? blk_queue_start_drain+0x70/0x70 ? irq_work_queue+0x18/0x20 ? vprintk_emit.part.0+0x1cc/0x350 ? wake_up_klogd_work_func+0x60/0x60 blk_mq_alloc_request+0x2b7/0x6b0 ? __blk_mq_alloc_requests+0x1060/0x1060 ? __switch_to+0x5b7/0x1060 nvme_submit_user_cmd+0xa9/0x330 nvme_user_cmd.isra.0+0x240/0x3f0 ? force_sigsegv+0xe0/0xe0 ? nvme_user_cmd64+0x400/0x400 ? vfs_fileattr_set+0x9b0/0x9b0 ? cgroup_update_frozen_flag+0x24/0x1c0 ? cgroup_leave_frozen+0x204/0x330 ? nvme_ioctl+0x7c/0x2c0 blkdev_ioctl+0x1a8/0x4d0 ? blkdev_common_ioctl+0x1930/0x1930 ? fdget+0x54/0x380 __x64_sys_ioctl+0x129/0x190 do_syscall_64+0x5b/0x160 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 RIP: 0033:0x7f765f703b0b Code: ff ff ff 85 c0 79 9b 49 c7 c4 ff ff ff ff 5b 5d 4c 89 e0 41 5c c3 66 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 f3 0f 1e fa b8 10 00 00 00 0f 05 <48> 3d 01 f0 ff ff 73 01 c3 48 8b 0d dd 52 0f 00 f7 d8 64 89 01 48 RSP: 002b:00007ffe2cefe808 EFLAGS: 00000202 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000010 RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 00007ffe2cefe860 RCX: 00007f765f703b0b RDX: 00007ffe2cefe860 RSI: 00000000c0484e41 RDI: 0000000000000003 RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: 0000000000000003 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 00007f765f611d50 R11: 0000000000000202 R12: 0000000000000003 R13: 00000000c0484e41 R14: 0000000000000001 R15: 00007ffe2cefea60 </TASK>
Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-68265?
How do I fix CVE-2025-68265?
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-2025-68265 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-68265 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-72490, BELL-CVE-2025-68265, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-68265, GHSA-2rf6-4xf4-32wc, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2025-68265, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2025-68265 and 3 more.