net: vlan: don't propagate flags on open
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 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-667 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: vlan: don't propagate flags on open With the device instance lock, there is now a possibility of a deadlock: [ 1.211455] ============================================ [ 1.211571] WARNING: possible recursive locking detected [ 1.211687] 6.14.0-rc5-01215-g032756b4ca7a-dirty #5 Not tainted [ 1.211823] -------------------------------------------- [ 1.211936] ip/184 is trying to acquire lock: [ 1.212032] ffff8881024a4c30 (&dev->lock){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: dev_set_allmulti+0x4e/0xb0 [ 1.212207] [ 1.212207] but task is already holding lock: [ 1.212332] ffff8881024a4c30 (&dev->lock){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: dev_open+0x50/0xb0 [ 1.212487] [ 1.212487] other info that might help us debug this: [ 1.212626] Possible unsafe locking scenario: [ 1.212626] [ 1.212751] CPU0 [ 1.212815] ---- [ 1.212871] lock(&dev->lock); [ 1.212944] lock(&dev->lock); [ 1.213016] [ 1.213016] *** DEADLOCK *** [ 1.213016] [ 1.213143] May be due to missing lock nesting notation [ 1.213143] [ 1.213294] 3 locks held by ip/184: [ 1.213371] #0: ffffffff838b53e0 (rtnl_mutex){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: rtnl_nets_lock+0x1b/0xa0 [ 1.213543] #1: ffffffff84e5fc70 (&net->rtnl_mutex){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: rtnl_nets_lock+0x37/0xa0 [ 1.213727] #2: ffff8881024a4c30 (&dev->lock){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: dev_open+0x50/0xb0 [ 1.213895] [ 1.213895] stack backtrace: [ 1.213991] CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 184 Comm: ip Not tainted 6.14.0-rc5-01215-g032756b4ca7a-dirty #5 [ 1.213993] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS Arch Linux 1.16.3-1-1 04/01/2014 [ 1.213994] Call Trace: [ 1.213995] <TASK> [ 1.213996] dump_stack_lvl+0x8e/0xd0 [ 1.214000] print_deadlock_bug+0x28b/0x2a0 [ 1.214020] lock_acquire+0xea/0x2a0 [ 1.214027] __mutex_lock+0xbf/0xd40 [ 1.214038] dev_set_allmulti+0x4e/0xb0 # real_dev->flags & IFF_ALLMULTI [ 1.214040] vlan_dev_open+0xa5/0x170 # ndo_open on vlandev [ 1.214042] __dev_open+0x145/0x270 [ 1.214046] __dev_change_flags+0xb0/0x1e0 [ 1.214051] netif_change_flags+0x22/0x60 # IFF_UP vlandev [ 1.214053] dev_change_flags+0x61/0xb0 # for each device in group from dev->vlan_info [ 1.214055] vlan_device_event+0x766/0x7c0 # on netdevsim0 [ 1.214058] notifier_call_chain+0x78/0x120 [ 1.214062] netif_open+0x6d/0x90 [ 1.214064] dev_open+0x5b/0xb0 # locks netdevsim0 [ 1.214066] bond_enslave+0x64c/0x1230 [ 1.214075] do_set_master+0x175/0x1e0 # on netdevsim0 [ 1.214077] do_setlink+0x516/0x13b0 [ 1.214094] rtnl_newlink+0xaba/0xb80 [ 1.214132] rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x440/0x490 [ 1.214144] netlink_rcv_skb+0xeb/0x120 [ 1.214150] netlink_unicast+0x1f9/0x320 [ 1.214153] netlink_sendmsg+0x346/0x3f0 [ 1.214157] __sock_sendmsg+0x86/0xb0 [ 1.214160] ____sys_sendmsg+0x1c8/0x220 [ 1.214164] ___sys_sendmsg+0x28f/0x2d0 [ 1.214179] __x64_sys_sendmsg+0xef/0x140 [ 1.214184] do_syscall_64+0xec/0x1d0 [ 1.214190] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f [ 1.214191] RIP: 0033:0x7f2d1b4a7e56 Device setup: netdevsim0 (down) ^ ^ bond netdevsim1.100@netdevsim1 allmulticast=on (down) When we enslave the lower device (netdevsim0) which has a vlan, we propagate vlan's allmuti/promisc flags during ndo_open. This causes (re)locking on of the real_dev. Propagate allmulti/promisc on flags change, not on the open. There is a slight semantics change that vlans that are down now propagate the flags, but this seems unlikely to result in the real issues. Reproducer: echo 0 1 > /sys/bus/netdevsim/new_device dev_path=$(ls -d /sys/bus/netdevsim/devices/netdevsim0/net/*) dev=$(echo $dev_path | rev | cut -d/ -f1 | rev) ip link set dev $dev name netdevsim0 ip link set dev netdevsim0 up ip link add link netdevsim0 name netdevsim0.100 type vlan id 100 ip link set dev netdevsim0.100 allm ---truncated---
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 | 2.6.23 and later | 5.4.293, 5.10.237, 5.15.181, 6.1.135, 6.6.88, 6.12.24, 6.13.12, 6.14.3, 6.15 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 2.6.23 and later Fixed in 5.4.293, 5.10.237, 5.15.181, 6.1.135, 6.6.88, 6.12.24, 6.13.12, 6.14.3, 6.15 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 2
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | before 5.4.293; 5.5 to before 5.10.237; 5.11 to before 5.15.181; 5.16 to before 6.1.135; 6.2 to before 6.6.88; 6.7 to before 6.12.24; 6.13 to before 6.13.12; 6.14 to before 6.14.3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 11.0 | Vulnerable | Debian |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 5.4.293; 5.5 to before 5.10.237; 5.11 to before 5.15.181; 5.16 to before 6.1.135; 6.2 to before 6.6.88; 6.7 to before 6.12.24; 6.13 to before 6.13.12; 6.14 to before 6.14.3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 11.0 Vulnerable ·Debian
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.4.293, 5.10.237, 5.15.181, 6.1.135, 6.6.88, 6.12.24, 6.13.12, 6.14.3, 6.15
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-2025-23163
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-pj73-39g5-xmf7
- 2026-11-05 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Patch 9
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a32f1d4f1f4c9d978698f3c718621f6198f2e7ac
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b1e3eeb037256a2f1206a8d69810ec47eb152026
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/523fa0979d842443aa14b80002e45b471cbac137
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/53fb25e90c0a503a17c639341ba5e755cb2feb5c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d537859e56bcc3091805c524484a4c85386b3cc8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/299d7d27af6b5844cda06a0fdfa635705e1bc50f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8980018a9806743d9b80837330d46f06ecf78516
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/538b43aa21e3b17c110104efd218b966d2eda5f8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/27b918007d96402aba10ed52a6af8015230f1793
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- 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-2025-23163 · CVE Program
- CVE-2025-23163 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-pj73-39g5-xmf7 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2025-23163 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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