CVE-2025-21796: nfsd: clear acl_access/acl_default after releasing them

Published Feb 27, 2025
·
Updated

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

nfsd: clear aclaccess/acldefault after releasing them

If getting acldefault fails, aclaccess and acldefault will be released simultaneously. However, aclaccess will still retain a pointer pointing to the released posixacl, which will trigger a WARNING in nfs3svcreleasegetacl like this:

------------[ cut here ]------------ refcountt: underflow; use-after-free. WARNING: CPU: 26 PID: 3199 at lib/refcount.c:28 refcountwarnsaturate+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:refcountwarnsaturate+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> ? refcountwarnsaturate+0xb5/0x170 ? warn+0xa5/0x140 ? refcountwarnsaturate+0xb5/0x170 ? reportbug+0x1b1/0x1e0 ? handlebug+0x53/0xa0 ? excinvalidop+0x17/0x40 ? asmexcinvalidop+0x1a/0x20 ? ticknohztickstopped+0x1e/0x40 ? refcountwarnsaturate+0xb5/0x170 ? refcountwarnsaturate+0xb5/0x170 nfs3svcreleasegetacl+0xc9/0xe0 svcprocesscommon+0x5db/0xb60 ? pfxsvcprocesscommon+0x10/0x10 ? rcureadunlock+0x69/0xa0 ? pfxnfsddispatch+0x10/0x10 ? svcxprtreceived+0xa1/0x120 ? xdrinitdecode+0x11d/0x190 svcprocess+0x2a7/0x330 svchandlexprt+0x69d/0x940 svcrecv+0x180/0x2d0 nfsd+0x168/0x200 ? pfxnfsd+0x10/0x10 kthread+0x1a2/0x1e0 ? kthread+0xf4/0x1e0 ? pfxkthread+0x10/0x10 retfromfork+0x34/0x60 ? pfxkthread+0x10/0x10 retfromforkasm+0x1a/0x30 </TASK> Kernel panic - not syncing: kernel: paniconwarn set ...

Clear aclaccess/acldefault after posixaclrelease is called to prevent UAF from being triggered.

Other sources

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

nfsd: clear aclaccess/acldefault after releasing them

If getting acldefault fails, aclaccess and acldefault will be released simultaneously. However, aclaccess will still retain a pointer pointing to the released posixacl, which will trigger a WARNING in nfs3svcreleasegetacl like this:

------------[ cut here ]------------ refcountt: underflow; use-after-free. WARNING: CPU: 26 PID: 3199 at lib/refcount.c:28 refcountwarnsaturate+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:refcountwarnsaturate+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 ? refcountwarnsaturate+0xb5/0x170 ? warn+0xa5/0x140 ? refcountwarnsaturate+0xb5/0x170 ? reportbug+0x1b1/0x1e0 ? handlebug+0x53/0xa0 ? excinvalidop+0x17/0x40 ? asmexcinvalidop+0x1a/0x20 ? ticknohztickstopped+0x1e/0x40 ? refcountwarnsaturate+0xb5/0x170 ? refcountwarnsaturate+0xb5/0x170 nfs3svcreleasegetacl+0xc9/0xe0 svcprocesscommon+0x5db/0xb60 ? pfxsvcprocesscommon+0x10/0x10 ? rcureadunlock+0x69/0xa0 ? pfxnfsddispatch+0x10/0x10 ? svcxprtreceived+0xa1/0x120 ? xdrinitdecode+0x11d/0x190 svcprocess+0x2a7/0x330 svchandlexprt+0x69d/0x940 svcrecv+0x180/0x2d0 nfsd+0x168/0x200 ? pfxnfsd+0x10/0x10 kthread+0x1a2/0x1e0 ? kthread+0xf4/0x1e0 ? pfxkthread+0x10/0x10 retfromfork+0x34/0x60 ? pfxkthread+0x10/0x10 retfromforkasm+0x1a/0x30 /TASK Kernel panic - not syncing: kernel: paniconwarn set ...

Clear aclaccess/acldefault after posixaclrelease is called to prevent UAF from being triggered.

— IBM

Affected Software

18 affected componentsFixes available
Linux Foundation Linux Kernel
Microsoft azl3 kernel 6.6.78.1-3
Patch available
Microsoft cbl2 kernel 5.15.176.3-3
Patch available
Microsoft cbl2 kernel 5.15.176.3-3
Patch available
Microsoft azl3 kernel 6.6.82.1-1
Patch available
Microsoft cbl2 kernel 5.15.180.1-1
Patch available
Linux Linux kernel>=2.6.13<5.10.235
Linux Linux kernel>=5.11<5.15.179
Linux Linux kernel>=5.16<6.1.129
Linux Linux kernel>=6.2<6.6.79
Linux Linux kernel>=6.7<6.12.16
Linux Linux kernel>=6.13<6.13.4
Linux Linux kernel=6.14-rc1
Linux Linux kernel=6.14-rc2
IBM Verify Identity Access<=11.0 - 11.0.2
IBM Security Verify Access<=10.0 - 10.0.9.1
IBM Verify Identity Access Container<=11.0 - 11.0.2
IBM Security Verify Access Container<=10.0 - 10.0.9.1

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade to a fixed release to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 1.16.1-2.fc37
  2. Upgrade

    Upgrade to a fixed release to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.12.0-rc6-00079-g04ae226af01f-dirty
  3. Compensating control

    If you are affected by the NFS UAF/refcount underflow described in the Linux kernel crash log (nfsd and posix_acl release path), mitigate externally by isolating or restricting access to the NFS service (e.g., block/limit inbound NFS traffic at the firewall/ACL) until the kernel update/patch is applied.

Event History

Feb 27, 2025
CVE Published
via MITRE·02:18 AM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·02:18 AM
Description
Data Sourced
via Red Hat·03:04 AM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Data Sourced
via NVD·03:15 AM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software
Apr 9, 2025
Data Sourced
via Microsoft·07:00 AM
DescriptionSeverityWeakness
Data Sourced
via Microsoft·07:00 AM
Affected Software
Updated
via Microsoft·07:00 AM
Affected Software
Updated
via Microsoft·07:00 AM
SeverityAffected Software
Updated
via Microsoft·07:00 AM
DescriptionSeverity
Jul 8, 2026
Data Sourced
via IBM·12:00 AM
DescriptionAffected Software

Parent advisories

This vulnerability appears in the following advisories.

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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2025-21796?

CVE-2025-21796 has a moderate severity level due to its impact on access control list (ACL) handling in the Linux kernel.

2

How do I fix CVE-2025-21796?

To fix CVE-2025-21796, update to the latest version of the Linux kernel that includes the patch for this vulnerability.

3

What systems are affected by CVE-2025-21796?

CVE-2025-21796 affects various distributions of the Linux kernel that utilize the nfsd component.

4

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2025-21796?

CVE-2025-21796 is classified as an access control vulnerability related to improper handling of ACLs.

5

Is CVE-2025-21796 exploitable remotely?

CVE-2025-21796 could potentially be exploited remotely if the affected system's NFS service is exposed to untrusted networks.

Company

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