ipv4: route: Prevent rt_bind_exception() from rebinding stale fnhe
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 4 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipv4: route: Prevent rt_bind_exception() from rebinding stale fnhe The sit driver's packet transmission path calls: sit_tunnel_xmit() -> update_or_create_fnhe(), which lead to fnhe_remove_oldest() being called to delete entries exceeding FNHE_RECLAIM_DEPTH+random. The race window is between fnhe_remove_oldest() selecting fnheX for deletion and the subsequent kfree_rcu(). During this time, the concurrent path's __mkroute_output() -> find_exception() can fetch the soon-to-be-deleted fnheX, and rt_bind_exception() then binds it with a new dst using a dst_hold(). When the original fnheX is freed via RCU, the dst reference remains permanently leaked. CPU 0 CPU 1 __mkroute_output() find_exception() [fnheX] update_or_create_fnhe() fnhe_remove_oldest() [fnheX] rt_bind_exception() [bind dst] RCU callback [fnheX freed, dst leak] This issue manifests as a device reference count leak and a warning in dmesg when unregistering the net device: unregister_netdevice: waiting for sitX to become free. Usage count = N Ido Schimmel provided the simple test validation method [1]. The fix clears 'oldest->fnhe_daddr' before calling fnhe_flush_routes(). Since rt_bind_exception() checks this field, setting it to zero prevents the stale fnhe from being reused and bound to a new dst just before it is freed. [1] ip netns add ns1 ip -n ns1 link set dev lo up ip -n ns1 address add 192.0.2.1/32 dev lo ip -n ns1 link add name dummy1 up type dummy ip -n ns1 route add 192.0.2.2/32 dev dummy1 ip -n ns1 link add name gretap1 up arp off type gretap \ local 192.0.2.1 remote 192.0.2.2 ip -n ns1 route add 198.51.0.0/16 dev gretap1 taskset -c 0 ip netns exec ns1 mausezahn gretap1 \ -A 198.51.100.1 -B 198.51.0.0/16 -t udp -p 1000 -c 0 -q & taskset -c 2 ip netns exec ns1 mausezahn gretap1 \ -A 198.51.100.1 -B 198.51.0.0/16 -t udp -p 1000 -c 0 -q & sleep 10 ip netns pids ns1 | xargs kill ip netns del ns1
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 | 5.4.146 to before 5.4.302; 5.10.65 to before 5.10.247; 4.4.284 to before 4.5; 4.9.283 to before 4.10; 4.14.247 to before 4.15; 4.19.207 to before 4.20; 5.13.17 to before 5.14; 5.14.4 to before 5.15 | 5.4.302, 5.10.247, 4.5, 4.10, 4.15, 4.20, 5.14, 5.15 | Patch available | CNA |
| Linux | Linux | 5.15 and later | 5.4.302, 5.10.247, 5.15.197, 6.1.159, 6.6.117, 6.12.59, 6.17.9, 6.18 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.4.146 to before 5.4.302; 5.10.65 to before 5.10.247; 4.4.284 to before 4.5; 4.9.283 to before 4.10; 4.14.247 to before 4.15; 4.19.207 to before 4.20; 5.13.17 to before 5.14; 5.14.4 to before 5.15 Fixed in 5.4.302, 5.10.247, 4.5, 4.10, 4.15, 4.20, 5.14, 5.15 Patch available CNA
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.15 and later Fixed in 5.4.302, 5.10.247, 5.15.197, 6.1.159, 6.6.117, 6.12.59, 6.17.9, 6.18 Patch available CNA
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.4.302, 5.10.247, 4.5, 4.10, 4.15, 4.20, 5.14, 5.15
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.4.302, 5.10.247, 5.15.197, 6.1.159, 6.6.117, 6.12.59, 6.17.9, 6.18
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 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2025-68241
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-vwj6-rppm-qjrp
References
Other 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/69d35c12168f9c59b159ae566f77dfad9f96d7ca
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4b7210da22429765d19460d38c30eeca72656282
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/298f1e0694ab4edb6092d66efed93c4554e6ced1
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b8a44407bdaf2f0c5505cc7d9fc7d8da90cf9a94
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/041ab9ca6e80d8f792bb69df28ebf1ef39c06af8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b84f083f50ecc736a95091691339a1b363962f0e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0fd16ed6dc331636fb2a874c42d2f7d3156f7ff0
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ac1499fcd40fe06479e9b933347b837ccabc2a40
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Sources
- CVE-2025-68241 · CVE Program
- CVE-2025-68241 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-vwj6-rppm-qjrp · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2025-68241 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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