netlink: avoid infinite retry looping in netlink_unicast()
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: 1 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-835.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netlink: avoid infinite retry looping in netlink_unicast() netlink_attachskb() checks for the socket's read memory allocation constraints. Firstly, it has: rmem < READ_ONCE(sk->sk_rcvbuf) to check if the just increased rmem value fits into the socket's receive buffer. If not, it proceeds and tries to wait for the memory under: rmem + skb->truesize > READ_ONCE(sk->sk_rcvbuf) The checks don't cover the case when skb->truesize + sk->sk_rmem_alloc is equal to sk->sk_rcvbuf. Thus the function neither successfully accepts these conditions, nor manages to reschedule the task - and is called in retry loop for indefinite time which is caught as: rcu: INFO: rcu_sched self-detected stall on CPU rcu: 0-....: (25999 ticks this GP) idle=ef2/1/0x4000000000000000 softirq=262269/262269 fqs=6212 (t=26000 jiffies g=230833 q=259957) NMI backtrace for cpu 0 CPU: 0 PID: 22 Comm: kauditd Not tainted 5.10.240 #68 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.17.0-4.fc42 04/01/2014 Call Trace: <IRQ> dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:120 nmi_cpu_backtrace.cold lib/nmi_backtrace.c:105 nmi_trigger_cpumask_backtrace lib/nmi_backtrace.c:62 rcu_dump_cpu_stacks kernel/rcu/tree_stall.h:335 rcu_sched_clock_irq.cold kernel/rcu/tree.c:2590 update_process_times kernel/time/timer.c:1953 tick_sched_handle kernel/time/tick-sched.c:227 tick_sched_timer kernel/time/tick-sched.c:1399 __hrtimer_run_queues kernel/time/hrtimer.c:1652 hrtimer_interrupt kernel/time/hrtimer.c:1717 __sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt arch/x86/kernel/apic/apic.c:1113 asm_call_irq_on_stack arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:808 </IRQ> netlink_attachskb net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1234 netlink_unicast net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1349 kauditd_send_queue kernel/audit.c:776 kauditd_thread kernel/audit.c:897 kthread kernel/kthread.c:328 ret_from_fork arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:304 Restore the original behavior of the check which commit in Fixes accidentally missed when restructuring the code. Found by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org).
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 5.4.296 to before 5.4.297; 5.10.240 to before 5.10.241; 5.15.189 to before 5.15.190; 6.1.146 to before 6.1.149; 6.6.99 to before 6.6.103; 6.12.39 to before 6.12.43; 6.15.7 to before 6.15.11 | 5.4.297, 5.10.241, 5.15.190, 6.1.149, 6.6.103, 6.12.43, 6.15.11 | Patch available | CNA |
| Linux | Linux | 6.16 and later | 5.4.297, 5.10.241, 5.15.190, 6.1.149, 6.6.103, 6.12.43, 6.15.11, 6.16.2, 6.17 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.4.296 to before 5.4.297; 5.10.240 to before 5.10.241; 5.15.189 to before 5.15.190; 6.1.146 to before 6.1.149; 6.6.99 to before 6.6.103; 6.12.39 to before 6.12.43; 6.15.7 to before 6.15.11 Fixed in 5.4.297, 5.10.241, 5.15.190, 6.1.149, 6.6.103, 6.12.43, 6.15.11 Patch available CNA
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.16 and later Fixed in 5.4.297, 5.10.241, 5.15.190, 6.1.149, 6.6.103, 6.12.43, 6.15.11, 6.16.2, 6.17 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 8
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.1.146 to before 6.1.149; 6.6.99 to before 6.6.103; 6.12.39 to before 6.12.43; 6.15.7 to before 6.15.11; 6.16.1 to before 6.16.2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.4.296:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.4.296 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.10.240:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.10.240 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15.189:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.15.189 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:-:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.16 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.16 rc6 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.16 rc7 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 11.0 | Vulnerable | Debian |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.1.146 to before 6.1.149; 6.6.99 to before 6.6.103; 6.12.39 to before 6.12.43; 6.15.7 to before 6.15.11; 6.16.1 to before 6.16.2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.4.296:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.4.296 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.10.240:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.10.240 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15.189:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.15.189 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:-:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.16 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.16 rc6 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.16 rc7 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 11.0 Vulnerable ·Debian
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.4.297, 5.10.241, 5.15.190, 6.1.149, 6.6.103, 6.12.43, 6.15.11
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.4.297, 5.10.241, 5.15.190, 6.1.149, 6.6.103, 6.12.43, 6.15.11, 6.16.2, 6.17
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
Not affected: 4 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2025-38727
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-5j63-8q43-chww
References
Patch 9
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/47d49fd07f86d1f55ea1083287303d237e9e0922
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6bee383ff83352a693d03efdf27cdd80742f71b2
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f324959ad47e62e3cadaffa65d3cff790fb48529
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d42b71a34f6b8a2d5c53df81169b03b8d8b5cf4e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/346c820ef5135cf062fa3473da955ef8c5fb6929
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/44ddd7b1ae0b7edb2c832eb16798c827a05e58f0
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/78fcd69d55c5f11d7694c547eca767a1cfd38ec4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e8edc7de688791a337c068693f22e8d8b869df71
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/759dfc7d04bab1b0b86113f1164dc1fec192b859
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-2025-38727 · CVE Program
- CVE-2025-38727 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-5j63-8q43-chww · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2025-38727 · 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