Use After Free in Linux
CVE-2025-22126
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: md: fix mddev uaf while iterating all_mddevs list While iterating all_mddevs list from md_notify_reboot() and md_exit(), list_for_each_entry_safe is used, and this can race with deletint the next mddev, causing UAF: t1: spin_lock //list_for_each_entry_safe(mddev, n, ...) mddev_get(mddev1) // assume mddev2 is the next entry spin_unlock t2: //remove mddev2 ... mddev_free spin_lock list_del spin_unlock kfree(mddev2) mddev_put(mddev1) spin_lock //continue dereference mddev2->all_mddevs The old helper for_each_mddev() actually grab the reference of mddev2 while holding the lock, to prevent from being freed. This problem can be fixed the same way, however, the code will be complex. Hence switch to use list_for_each_entry, in this case mddev_put() can free the mddev1 and it's not safe as well. Refer to md_seq_show(), also factor out a helper mddev_put_locked() to fix this problem.
Vulnerability class: Use-After-Free
EPSS: 0.002 (8.5th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.
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.
Affected products
- Linux — versions f26514342255855f4ca3c0a92cb1cdea01c33004, 6.0, 0
- Linux Linux_kernel
Weakness classification (CWE)
Public proof-of-concept exploits
References
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2025-22126?
- CVE-2025-22126 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2025-04-16.
- How severe is CVE-2025-22126?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.
- Is CVE-2025-22126 known to be exploited?
- 2 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.