sched: address a potential NULL pointer dereference in the GRED scheduler.
Priority LOW 24CWE-476Published · Updated
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: 5 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CISA ADP. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-476.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sched: address a potential NULL pointer dereference in the GRED scheduler. If kzalloc in gred_init returns a NULL pointer, the code follows the error handling path, invoking gred_destroy. This, in turn, calls gred_offload, where memset could receive a NULL pointer as input, potentially leading to a kernel crash. When table->opt is NULL in gred_init(), gred_change_table_def() is not called yet, so it is not necessary to call ->ndo_setup_tc() in gred_offload().
Why it matters now
Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.00194 9th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Linux (Linux): 6.1.132, 6.6.84, 6.12.20 +2Red Hat: 5 without a fix
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 | 5.16 and later | 6.1.132, 6.6.84, 6.12.20, 6.13.8, 6.14 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.16 and later Fixed in 6.1.132, 6.6.84, 6.12.20, 6.13.8, 6.14 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 7
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.16 to before 6.1.132; 6.2 to before 6.6.84; 6.7 to before 6.12.20; 6.13 to before 6.13.8 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.14:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.14 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.14:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.14 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.14:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.14 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.14:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.14 rc4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.14:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.14 rc5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.14:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.14 rc6 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.16 to before 6.1.132; 6.2 to before 6.6.84; 6.7 to before 6.12.20; 6.13 to before 6.13.8 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.14:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.14 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.14:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.14 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.14:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.14 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.14:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.14 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.14:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.14 rc5 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.14:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.14 rc6 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.132, 6.6.84, 6.12.20, 6.13.8, 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 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2025-21980
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-mwfv-f593-4f6x
References
Patch 5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d02c9acd68950a444acda18d514e2b41f846cb7f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0f0a152957d64ce45b4c27c687e7d087e8f45079
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/68896dd50180b38ea552e49a6a00b685321e5769
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5f996b4f80c2cef1f9c77275055e7fcba44c9199
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/115ef44a98220fddfab37a39a19370497cd718b9
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- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2025-21980 · CVE Program
- CVE-2025-21980 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-mwfv-f593-4f6x · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2025-21980 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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