net: netpoll: fix incorrect refcount handling causing incorrect cleanup
Key facts
- Attack vector
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- Privileges required
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- User interaction
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- Attack complexity
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- Impact type
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- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
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- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 4 without a fix
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: netpoll: fix incorrect refcount handling causing incorrect cleanup commit efa95b01da18 ("netpoll: fix use after free") incorrectly ignored the refcount and prematurely set dev->npinfo to NULL during netpoll cleanup, leading to improper behavior and memory leaks. Scenario causing lack of proper cleanup: 1) A netpoll is associated with a NIC (e.g., eth0) and netdev->npinfo is allocated, and refcnt = 1 - Keep in mind that npinfo is shared among all netpoll instances. In this case, there is just one. 2) Another netpoll is also associated with the same NIC and npinfo->refcnt += 1. - Now dev->npinfo->refcnt = 2; - There is just one npinfo associated to the netdev. 3) When the first netpolls goes to clean up: - The first cleanup succeeds and clears np->dev->npinfo, ignoring refcnt. - It basically calls `RCU_INIT_POINTER(np->dev->npinfo, NULL);` - Set dev->npinfo = NULL, without proper cleanup - No ->ndo_netpoll_cleanup() is either called 4) Now the second target tries to clean up - The second cleanup fails because np->dev->npinfo is already NULL. * In this case, ops->ndo_netpoll_cleanup() was never called, and the skb pool is not cleaned as well (for the second netpoll instance) - This leaks npinfo and skbpool skbs, which is clearly reported by kmemleak. Revert commit efa95b01da18 ("netpoll: fix use after free") and adds clarifying comments emphasizing that npinfo cleanup should only happen once the refcount reaches zero, ensuring stable and correct netpoll behavior.
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 | 3.17 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 3.17 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, 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-2025-68245
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-jr3x-g84v-9793
References
Other 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8e6a50edad11e3e1426e4c29e7aa6201f3468ac2
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9b0bb18b4b9dc017c1825a2c5e763615e34a1593
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/890472d6fbf062e6de7fdd56642cb305ab79d669
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4afd4ebbad52aa146838ec23082ba393e426a2bb
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c645693180a98606c430825223d2029315d85e9d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c79a6d9da29219616b118a3adce9a14cd30f9bd0
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9a51b5ccd1c79afec1c03a4e1e6688da52597556
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/49c8d2c1f94cc2f4d1a108530d7ba52614b874c2
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Sources
- CVE-2025-68245 · CVE Program
- CVE-2025-68245 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-jr3x-g84v-9793 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2025-68245 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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