Buffer overflow in Linux

CVE-2025-21704

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: usb: cdc-acm: Check control transfer buffer size before access If the first fragment is shorter than struct usb_cdc_notification, we can't calculate an expected_size. Log an error and discard the notification instead of reading lengths from memory outside the received data, which can lead to memory corruption when the expected_size decreases between fragments, causing `expected_size - acm->nb_index` to wrap. This issue has been present since the beginning of git history; however, it only leads to memory corruption since commit ea2583529cd1 ("cdc-acm: reassemble fragmented notifications"). A mitigating factor is that acm_ctrl_irq() can only execute after userspace has opened /dev/ttyACM*; but if ModemManager is running, ModemManager will do that automatically depending on the USB device's vendor/product IDs and its other interfaces.

Vulnerability class: Buffer Overflow

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.004 (26.9th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 27th percentile — 26.9% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2025-21704: held from 0.004 to 0.004.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.004 · newest: 0.004 · change: +0.000

Affected products

  • Linux — versions 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2, 2.6.12, 0
  • Linux Kernel — versions 2.6.12, 6.14

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-21704?
CVE-2025-21704 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under Out-of-bounds Write. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2025-02-22.
How severe is CVE-2025-21704?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2025-21704 known to be exploited?
2 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.