NULL pointer dereference in Linux
CVE-2025-21636
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sctp: sysctl: plpmtud_probe_interval: avoid using current->nsproxy As mentioned in a previous commit of this series, using the 'net' structure via 'current' is not recommended for different reasons: - Inconsistency: getting info from the reader's/writer's netns vs only from the opener's netns. - current->nsproxy can be NULL in some cases, resulting in an 'Oops' (null-ptr-deref), e.g. when the current task is exiting, as spotted by syzbot [1] using acct(2). The 'net' structure can be obtained from the table->data using container_of(). Note that table->data could also be used directly, as this is the only member needed from the 'net' structure, but that would increase the size of this fix, to use '*data' everywhere 'net->sctp.probe_interval' is used.
EPSS: 0.002 (11.0th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 5.5 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
Affected products
- Linux — versions d1e462a7a5f359cbb9a0e8fbfafcfb6657034105, 5.14, 0
- Linux Linux_kernel — versions 6.13
Weakness classification (CWE)
Public proof-of-concept exploits
References
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2025-21636?
- CVE-2025-21636 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under NULL Pointer Dereference. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2025-01-19.
- How severe is CVE-2025-21636?
- Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.
- Is CVE-2025-21636 known to be exploited?
- 3 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.