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Vulnerabilities

Vulnerability · CVE-2025-21864

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tcp: drop secpath at the same time as we currently drop dst Xiumei reported hitting the WARN in xfr…

Published Mar 12, 2025 · catalog updated Oct 15, 2026 · linux kernel

Check if you run it

No confirmed exploitation is on record for CVE-2025-21864. EPSS is 0.28%. Act only if a listed version of linux kernel is installed.

Gaps on this record

  • No vendor fix or required action is stored. Compare the linked advisory before you change production.
Severity
Medium5.5
Known exploitation
Not in CISA/VulnCheck KEV
EPSS
0.28%
Remediation
Advisory link
Affected products
cpe linux/linux kernel

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tcp: drop secpath at the same time as we currently drop dst Xiumei reported hitting the WARN in xfrm6_tunnel_net_exit while running tests that boil down to: - create a pair of netns - run a basic TCP test over ipcomp6 - delete the pair of netns The xfrm_state found on spi_byaddr was not deleted at the time we delete the netns, because we still have a reference on it. This lingering reference comes from a secpath (which holds a ref on the xfrm_state), which is still attached to an skb. This skb is not leaked, it ends up on sk_receive_queue and then gets defer-free'd by skb_attempt_defer_free. The problem happens when we defer freeing an skb (push it on one CPU's defer_list), and don't flush that list before the netns is deleted. In that case, we still have a reference on the xfrm_state that we don't expect at this point. We already drop the skb's dst in the TCP receive path when it's no longer needed, so let's also drop the secpath. At this point, tcp_filter has already called into the LSM hooks that may require the secpath, so it should not be needed anymore. However, in some of those places, the MPTCP extension has just been attached to the skb, so we cannot simply drop all extensions.

Are you affected?

Enter the version you run. The result uses only the ranges stored on this record.

The check returns affected, not affected, or incomplete. It does not guess a version that is missing from the record.

  • cpe linux/linux kernel6.14

How to fix CVE-2025-21864

What to do

Three questions, each answered from this record only. Confirm the vendor advisory before you patch.

Should you patch?

No confirmed exploitation is on record for CVE-2025-21864. EPSS is 0.28%. Act only if a listed version of linux kernel is installed.

Which versions are affected?

Compare what you have installed with linux/linux kernel 6.14. Compare the installed version with the linked vendor advisory before you change production.

What should an analyst verify?

CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference. EPSS 0.28%. There is no CISA KEV listing. No Exploit-DB or Metasploit reference is linked. Use the source links for the original advisory.

Code

The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.

Timeline

Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.

  1. Mar 12, 2025 · NIST NVD

    Detected

    In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tcp: drop secpath at the same time as we currently drop dst Xiumei reported hitting the WARN in xfrm6_tunnel_net_exit while running tests that boil down to: - create a pair of netns - run a basic TCP test over ipcomp6 - delete the pair of netns The xfrm_state found on spi_byaddr was not deleted at the time we delete the netns, bec

  2. Oct 15, 2026 · NIST NVD

    Updated

    In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tcp: drop secpath at the same time as we currently drop dst Xiumei reported hitting the WARN in xfrm6_tunnel_net_exit while running tests that boil down to: - create a pair of netns - run a basic TCP test over ipcomp6 - delete the pair of netns The xfrm_state found on spi_byaddr was not deleted at the time we delete the netns, bec

Sources

  • CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2025-21864

    Official CVE identifier

    cve.org
  • FIRST EPSSExploitation probabilityCVE-2025-21864

    30-day exploitation probability 0.3%

    first.org
  • NIST NVDVulnerability recordCVE-2025-21864

    In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tcp: drop secpath at the same time as we currently drop dst Xiumei reported hitting the WARN in xfrm6_tunnel_net_exit while running tests that boil down to: - create a pair of netns - run a basic TCP test ove

    nvd.nist.gov

References

Freshness

Last verified in this catalog Oct 16, 2026. Significant claims (KEV, EPSS, CVSS, affected ranges) come from the source rows above — open the original publisher for the authoritative advisory.