CVE-2025-21731: nbd: don't allow reconnect after disconnect

Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2025-02-27 · updated 2026-10-15
Weakness: CWE-416

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nbd: don't allow reconnect after disconnect Following process can cause nbd_config UAF: 1) grab nbd_config temporarily; 2) nbd_genl_disconnect() flush all recv_work() and release the initial reference: nbd_genl_disconnect nbd_disconnect_and_put nbd_disconnect flush_workqueue(nbd->recv_workq) if (test_and_clear_bit(NBD_RT_HAS_CONFIG_REF, ...)) nbd_config_put -> due to step 1), reference is still not zero 3) nbd_genl_reconfigure() queue recv_work() again; nbd_genl_reconfigure config = nbd_get_config_unlocked(nbd) if (!config) -> succeed if (!test_bit(NBD_RT_BOUND, ...)) -> succeed nbd_reconnect_socket queue_work(nbd->recv_workq, &args->work) 4) step 1) release the reference; 5) Finially, recv_work() will trigger UAF: recv_work nbd_config_put(nbd) -> nbd_config is freed atomic_dec(&config->recv_threads) -> UAF Fix the problem by clearing NBD_RT_BOUND in nbd_genl_disconnect(), so that nbd_genl_reconfigure() will fail.

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 4.12 before 5.4.291; from 5.5 before 5.10.235; from 5.11 before 5.15.179; from 5.16 before 6.1.129; from 6.2 before 6.6.76; from 6.7 before 6.12.13 — fixed in 5.10.235, 5.15.179, 5.4.291, 6.1.129, 6.12.13, 6.13.2

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 5.10.235, 5.15.179, 5.4.291, 6.1.129. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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