Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: pfcp: Destroy device along...
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
pfcp: Destroy device along with udp socket's netns dismantle.
pfcp_newlink() links the device to a list in dev_net(dev) instead
of net, where a udp tunnel socket is created.
Even when net is removed, the device stays alive on dev_net(dev).
Then, removing net triggers the splat below. [0]
In this example, pfcp0 is created in ns2, but the udp socket is
created in ns1.
ip netns add ns1
ip netns add ns2
ip -n ns1 link add netns ns2 name pfcp0 type pfcp
ip netns del ns1
Let's link the device to the socket's netns instead.
Now, pfcp_net_exit() needs another netdev iteration to remove
all pfcp devices in the netns.
pfcp_dev_list is not used under RCU, so the list API is converted
to the non-RCU variant.
pfcp_net_exit() can be converted to .exit_batch_rtnl() in net-next.
[0]:
ref_tracker: net notrefcnt@00000000128b34dc has 1/1 users at
sk_alloc (./include/net/net_namespace.h:345 net/core/sock.c:2236)
inet_create (net/ipv4/af_inet.c:326 net/ipv4/af_inet.c:252)
__sock_create (net/socket.c:1558)
udp_sock_create4 (net/ipv4/udp_tunnel_core.c:18)
pfcp_create_sock (drivers/net/pfcp.c:168)
pfcp_newlink (drivers/net/pfcp.c:182 drivers/net/pfcp.c:197)
rtnl_newlink (net/core/rtnetlink.c:3786 net/core/rtnetlink.c:3897 net/core/rtnetlink.c:4012)
rtnetlink_rcv_msg (net/core/rtnetlink.c:6922)
netlink_rcv_skb (net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2542)
netlink_unicast (net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1321 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1347)
netlink_sendmsg (net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1891)
____sys_sendmsg (net/socket.c:711 net/socket.c:726 net/socket.c:2583)
___sys_sendmsg (net/socket.c:2639)
__sys_sendmsg (net/socket.c:2669)
do_syscall_64 (arch/x86/entry/common.c:52 arch/x86/entry/common.c:83)
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe (arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:130)
WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 11 at lib/ref_tracker.c:179 ref_tracker_dir_exit (lib/ref_tracker.c:179)
Modules linked in:
CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 11 Comm: kworker/u16:0 Not tainted 6.13.0-rc5-00147-g4c1224501e9d #5
Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS rel-1.16.0-0-gd239552ce722-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014
Workqueue: netns cleanup_net
RIP: 0010:ref_tracker_dir_exit (lib/ref_tracker.c:179)
Code: 00 00 00 fc ff df 4d 8b 26 49 bd 00 01 00 00 00 00 ad de 4c 39 f5 0f 85 df 00 00 00 48 8b 74 24 08 48 89 df e8 a5 cc 12 02 90 <0f> 0b 90 48 8d 6b 44 be 04 00 00 00 48 89 ef e8 80 de 67 ff 48 89
RSP: 0018:ff11000007f3fb60 EFLAGS: 00010286
RAX: 00000000000020ef RBX: ff1100000d6481e0 RCX: 1ffffffff0e40d82
RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: ffffffff8423ee3c
RBP: ff1100000d648230 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: fffffbfff0e395af
R10: 0000000000000001 R11: 0000000000000000 R12: ff1100000d648230
R13: dead000000000100 R14: ff1100000d648230 R15: dffffc0000000000
FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ff1100006ce80000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000
CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033
CR2: 00005620e1363990 CR3: 000000000eeb2002 CR4: 0000000000771ef0
DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000
DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe07f0 DR7: 0000000000000400
PKRU: 55555554
Call Trace:
? __warn (kernel/panic.c:748)
? ref_tracker_dir_exit (lib/ref_tracker.c:179)
? report_bug (lib/bug.c:201 lib/bug.c:219)
? handle_bug (arch/x86/kernel/traps.c:285)
? exc_invalid_op (arch/x86/kernel/traps.c:309 (discriminator 1))
? asm_exc_invalid_op (./arch/x86/include/asm/idtentry.h:621)
? _raw_spin_unlock_irqrestore (./arch/x86/include/asm/irqflags.h:42 ./arch/x86/include/asm/irqflags.h:97 ./arch/x86/include/asm/irqflags.h:155 ./include/linux/spinlock_api_smp.h:151 kernel/locking/spinlock.c:194)
? ref_tracker_dir_exit (lib/ref_tracker.c:179)
? __pfx_ref_tracker_dir_exit (lib/ref_tracker.c:158)
? kfree (mm/slub.c:4613 mm/slub.c:4761)
net_free (net/core/net_namespace.c:476 net/core/net_namespace.c:467)
cleanup_net (net/cor
---truncated---
Impact
CVE-2025-21677 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (Medium). The vector is requires local access, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. No fixed version is listed yet, so configuration controls and monitoring matter more in the interim.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2025-21677? CVE-2025-21677 is a medium-severity security vulnerability. No fixed version is listed yet.
- How severe is CVE-2025-21677? CVE-2025-21677 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2025-21677? No fixed version is listed for CVE-2025-21677 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.
- Is CVE-2025-21677 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-21677 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2025-21677 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.