CVE-2025-21796

HIGH
2025-02-27 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
7.8
CVSS 3.1
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CVSS Vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

3
Analysis Generated
Mar 28, 2026 - 18:28 vuln.today
Patch Released
Mar 28, 2026 - 18:28 nvd
Patch available
CVE Published
Feb 27, 2025 - 03:15 nvd
HIGH 7.8

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nfsd: clear acl_access/acl_default after releasing them If getting acl_default fails, acl_access and acl_default will be released simultaneously. However, acl_access will still retain a pointer pointing to the released posix_acl, which will trigger a WARNING in nfs3svc_release_getacl like this: ------------[ cut here ]------------ refcount_t: underflow; use-after-free. WARNING: CPU: 26 PID: 3199 at lib/refcount.c:28 refcount_warn_saturate+0xb5/0x170 Modules linked in: CPU: 26 UID: 0 PID: 3199 Comm: nfsd Not tainted 6.12.0-rc6-00079-g04ae226af01f-dirty #8 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.16.1-2.fc37 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:refcount_warn_saturate+0xb5/0x170 Code: cc cc 0f b6 1d b3 20 a5 03 80 fb 01 0f 87 65 48 d8 00 83 e3 01 75 e4 48 c7 c7 c0 3b 9b 85 c6 05 97 20 a5 03 01 e8 fb 3e 30 ff <0f> 0b eb cd 0f b6 1d 8a3 RSP: 0018:ffffc90008637cd8 EFLAGS: 00010282 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: ffffffff83904fde RDX: dffffc0000000000 RSI: 0000000000000008 RDI: ffff88871ed36380 RBP: ffff888158beeb40 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: fffff520010c6f56 R10: ffffc90008637ab7 R11: 0000000000000001 R12: 0000000000000001 R13: ffff888140e77400 R14: ffff888140e77408 R15: ffffffff858b42c0 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff88871ed00000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000562384d32158 CR3: 000000055cc6a000 CR4: 00000000000006f0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: <TASK> ? refcount_warn_saturate+0xb5/0x170 ? __warn+0xa5/0x140 ? refcount_warn_saturate+0xb5/0x170 ? report_bug+0x1b1/0x1e0 ? handle_bug+0x53/0xa0 ? exc_invalid_op+0x17/0x40 ? asm_exc_invalid_op+0x1a/0x20 ? tick_nohz_tick_stopped+0x1e/0x40 ? refcount_warn_saturate+0xb5/0x170 ? refcount_warn_saturate+0xb5/0x170 nfs3svc_release_getacl+0xc9/0xe0 svc_process_common+0x5db/0xb60 ? __pfx_svc_process_common+0x10/0x10 ? __rcu_read_unlock+0x69/0xa0 ? __pfx_nfsd_dispatch+0x10/0x10 ? svc_xprt_received+0xa1/0x120 ? xdr_init_decode+0x11d/0x190 svc_process+0x2a7/0x330 svc_handle_xprt+0x69d/0x940 svc_recv+0x180/0x2d0 nfsd+0x168/0x200 ? __pfx_nfsd+0x10/0x10 kthread+0x1a2/0x1e0 ? kthread+0xf4/0x1e0 ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 ret_from_fork+0x34/0x60 ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 </TASK> Kernel panic - not syncing: kernel: panic_on_warn set ... Clear acl_access/acl_default after posix_acl_release is called to prevent UAF from being triggered.

Analysis

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nfsd: clear acl_access/acl_default after releasing them If getting acl_default fails, acl_access and acl_default will be released. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Use After Free vulnerability could allow attackers to access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application.

Technical Context

This vulnerability is classified as Use After Free (CWE-416), which allows attackers to access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nfsd: clear acl_access/acl_default after releasing them If getting acl_default fails, acl_access and acl_default will be released simultaneously. However, acl_access will still retain a pointer pointing to the released posix_acl, which will trigger a WARNING in nfs3svc_release_getacl like this: ------------[ cut here ]------------ refcount_t: underflow; use-after-free. WARNING: CPU: 26 PID: 3199 at lib/refcount.c:28 refcount_warn_saturate+0xb5/0x170 Modules linked in: CPU: 26 UID: 0 PID: 3199 Comm: nfsd Not tainted 6.12.0-rc6-00079-g04ae226af01f-dirty #8 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.16.1-2.fc37 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:refcount_warn_saturate+0xb5/0x170 Code: cc cc 0f b6 1d b3 20 a5 03 80 fb 01 0f 87 65 48 d8 00 83 e3 01 75 e4 48 c7 c7 c0 3b 9b 85 c6 05 97 20 a5 03 01 e8 fb 3e 30 ff <0f> 0b eb cd 0f b6 1d 8a3 RSP: 0018:ffffc90008637cd8 EFLAGS: 00010282 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: ffffffff83904fde RDX: dffffc0000000000 RSI: 0000000000000008 RDI: ffff88871ed36380 RBP: ffff888158beeb40 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: fffff520010c6f56 R10: ffffc90008637ab7 R11: 0000000000000001 R12: 0000000000000001 R13: ffff888140e77400 R14: ffff888140e77408 R15: ffffffff858b42c0 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff88871ed00000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000562384d32158 CR3: 000000055cc6a000 CR4: 00000000000006f0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: <TASK> ? refcount_warn_saturate+0xb5/0x170 ? __warn+0xa5/0x140 ? refcount_warn_saturate+0xb5/0x170 ? report_bug+0x1b1/0x1e0 ? handle_bug+0x53/0xa0 ? exc_invalid_op+0x17/0x40 ? asm_exc_invalid_op+0x1a/0x20 ? tick_nohz_tick_stopped+0x1e/0x40 ? refcount_warn_saturate+0xb5/0x170 ? refcount_warn_saturate+0xb5/0x170 nfs3svc_release_getacl+0xc9/0xe0 svc_process_common+0x5db/0xb60 ? __pfx_svc_process_common+0x10/0x10 ? __rcu_read_unlock+0x69/0xa0 ? __pfx_nfsd_dispatch+0x10/0x10 ? svc_xprt_received+0xa1/0x120 ? xdr_init_decode+0x11d/0x190 svc_process+0x2a7/0x330 svc_handle_xprt+0x69d/0x940 svc_recv+0x180/0x2d0 nfsd+0x168/0x200 ? __pfx_nfsd+0x10/0x10 kthread+0x1a2/0x1e0 ? kthread+0xf4/0x1e0 ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 ret_from_fork+0x34/0x60 ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 </TASK> Kernel panic - not syncing: kernel: panic_on_warn set ... Clear acl_access/acl_default after posix_acl_release is called to prevent UAF from being triggered. Affected products include: Linux Linux Kernel.

Affected Products

Linux Linux Kernel.

Remediation

A vendor patch is available. Apply the latest security update as soon as possible. Use smart pointers or garbage-collected languages. Set pointers to NULL after freeing. Enable memory sanitizers.

Priority Score

39
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +0.0
CVSS: +39
POC: 0

Vendor Status

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CVE-2025-21796 vulnerability details – vuln.today

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