Use After Free in Linux

CVE-2025-37890

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net_sched: hfsc: Fix a UAF vulnerability in class with netem as child qdisc As described in Gerrard's report [1], we have a UAF case when an hfsc class has a netem child qdisc. The crux of the issue is that hfsc is assuming that checking for cl->qdisc->q.qlen == 0 guarantees that it hasn't inserted the class in the vttree or eltree (which is not true for the netem duplicate case). This patch checks the n_active class variable to make sure that the code won't insert the class in the vttree or eltree twice, catering for the reentrant case. [1] https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/CAHcdcOm+03OD2j6R0=YHKqmy=VgJ8xEOKuP6c7mSgnp-TEJJbw@mail.gmail.com/

Vulnerability class: Use-After-Free

EPSS: 0.002 (6.8th 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

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-37890?
CVE-2025-37890 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2025-05-16.
How severe is CVE-2025-37890?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2025-37890 known to be exploited?
2 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.