mm: zswap: properly synchronize freeing resources during CPU hotunplug
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 10 fixed, 1 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-416 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm: zswap: properly synchronize freeing resources during CPU hotunplug In zswap_compress() and zswap_decompress(), the per-CPU acomp_ctx of the current CPU at the beginning of the operation is retrieved and used throughout. However, since neither preemption nor migration are disabled, it is possible that the operation continues on a different CPU. If the original CPU is hotunplugged while the acomp_ctx is still in use, we run into a UAF bug as some of the resources attached to the acomp_ctx are freed during hotunplug in zswap_cpu_comp_dead() (i.e. acomp_ctx.buffer, acomp_ctx.req, or acomp_ctx.acomp). The problem was introduced in commit 1ec3b5fe6eec ("mm/zswap: move to use crypto_acomp API for hardware acceleration") when the switch to the crypto_acomp API was made. Prior to that, the per-CPU crypto_comp was retrieved using get_cpu_ptr() which disables preemption and makes sure the CPU cannot go away from under us. Preemption cannot be disabled with the crypto_acomp API as a sleepable context is needed. Use the acomp_ctx.mutex to synchronize CPU hotplug callbacks allocating and freeing resources with compression/decompression paths. Make sure that acomp_ctx.req is NULL when the resources are freed. In the compression/decompression paths, check if acomp_ctx.req is NULL after acquiring the mutex (meaning the CPU was offlined) and retry on the new CPU. The initialization of acomp_ctx.mutex is moved from the CPU hotplug callback to the pool initialization where it belongs (where the mutex is allocated). In addition to adding clarity, this makes sure that CPU hotplug cannot reinitialize a mutex that is already locked by compression/decompression. Previously a fix was attempted by holding cpus_read_lock() [1]. This would have caused a potential deadlock as it is possible for code already holding the lock to fall into reclaim and enter zswap (causing a deadlock). A fix was also attempted using SRCU for synchronization, but Johannes pointed out that synchronize_srcu() cannot be used in CPU hotplug notifiers [2]. Alternative fixes that were considered/attempted and could have worked: - Refcounting the per-CPU acomp_ctx. This involves complexity in handling the race between the refcount dropping to zero in zswap_[de]compress() and the refcount being re-initialized when the CPU is onlined. - Disabling migration before getting the per-CPU acomp_ctx [3], but that's discouraged and is a much bigger hammer than needed, and could result in subtle performance issues. [1]https://lkml.kernel.org/[email protected]/ [2]https://lkml.kernel.org/[email protected]/ [3]https://lkml.kernel.org/[email protected]/ [[email protected]: remove comment]
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 5.11 and later | 6.12.12, 6.13 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.11 and later Fixed in 6.12.12, 6.13 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 8
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.11 to before 6.12.12 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.13 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.13 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.13 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.13 rc4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.13 rc5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.13 rc6 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.13 rc7 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.11 to before 6.12.12 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.13 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.13 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.13 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.13 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.13 rc5 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.13 rc6 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.13:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.13 rc7 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.12.12, 6.13
Red Hat 2 advisories
- RHSA-2025:20518 Released 2025-11-11 · Red Hat rating Moderatekernel security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) kernel-64k-debug-devel-5.14.0-611.5.1.el9_7, kernel-64k-debug-devel-matched-5.14.0-611.5.1.el9_7, kernel-64k-devel-5.14.0-611.5.1.el9_7 +12
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) kernel-5.14.0-611.5.1.el9_7, kernel-64k-5.14.0-611.5.1.el9_7, kernel-64k-core-5.14.0-611.5.1.el9_7 +28
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) kernel-tools-libs-devel-5.14.0-611.5.1.el9_7, libperf-5.14.0-611.5.1.el9_7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-611.5.1.el9_7, kernel-rt-64k-5.14.0-611.5.1.el9_7, kernel-rt-64k-core-5.14.0-611.5.1.el9_7 +21
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-611.5.1.el9_7, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-611.5.1.el9_7, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-611.5.1.el9_7 +9
- RHSA-2025:20095 Released 2025-11-11 · Red Hat rating Moderatekernel security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 10) kernel-64k-debug-devel-6.12.0-124.8.1.el10_1, kernel-64k-debug-devel-matched-6.12.0-124.8.1.el10_1, kernel-64k-devel-6.12.0-124.8.1.el10_1 +12
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 10) kernel-6.12.0-124.8.1.el10_1, kernel-64k-6.12.0-124.8.1.el10_1, kernel-64k-core-6.12.0-124.8.1.el10_1 +29
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 10) kernel-tools-libs-devel-6.12.0-124.8.1.el10_1, libperf-6.12.0-124.8.1.el10_1
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 10) kernel-rt-6.12.0-124.8.1.el10_1, kernel-rt-64k-6.12.0-124.8.1.el10_1, kernel-rt-64k-core-6.12.0-124.8.1.el10_1 +21
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 10) kernel-rt-6.12.0-124.8.1.el10_1, kernel-rt-core-6.12.0-124.8.1.el10_1, kernel-rt-debug-6.12.0-124.8.1.el10_1 +9
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:20095 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:20518 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:20095 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:20518 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:20095 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:20518 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:20095 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:20518 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:20095 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:20518 |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2025-21693
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-jqr2-rwpf-xrf3
- 2026-10-29 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
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Sources
- CVE-2025-21693 · CVE Program
- CVE-2025-21693 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-jqr2-rwpf-xrf3 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2025-21693 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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