net: ipv6: fix dst ref loops in rpl, seg6 and ioam6 lwtunnels
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-401.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: ipv6: fix dst ref loops in rpl, seg6 and ioam6 lwtunnels Some lwtunnels have a dst cache for post-transformation dst. If the packet destination did not change we may end up recording a reference to the lwtunnel in its own cache, and the lwtunnel state will never be freed. Discovered by the ioam6.sh test, kmemleak was recently fixed to catch per-cpu memory leaks. I'm not sure if rpl and seg6 can actually hit this, but in principle I don't see why not.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
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 | 4.10 and later | 6.1.191, 6.6.160, 6.12.16, 6.13.4, 6.14 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 4.10 and later Fixed in 6.1.191, 6.6.160, 6.12.16, 6.13.4, 6.14 Patch available CNA
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.191, 6.6.160, 6.12.16, 6.13.4, 6.14
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet |
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2025-21768
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-r5gw-qwwg-wx9p
- 2026-10-21 Fix available: Linux/[email protected], Linux/Linux@e2ef3fa31353b30bda94358fe5205c141289746d · CNA
- 2026-10-21 1 new reference · CNA
- 2026-10-30 Fix available: Linux/Linux@26f0b472ae2a82920e38c7cf41583951046d586a, Linux/[email protected] · CNA
- 2026-10-30 1 new reference · CNA
- 2026-11-05 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Patch 3
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2025-21768 · CVE Program
- CVE-2025-21768 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-r5gw-qwwg-wx9p · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2025-21768 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences