CVE-2025-21654: linux kernel — Fix

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ovl: support encoding fid from inode with no alias Dmitry Safonov reported that a WARN_ON() assertion can be trigered by userspace when calling inotify_show_fdinfo() for an overlayfs watched inode, whose dentry aliases were discarded with drop_caches. The WARN_ON() assertion in inotify_show_fdinfo() was removed, because it is possible for encoding file handle to fail for other reason, but the impact of failing to encode an overlayfs file handle goes beyond this assertion. As shown in the LTP test case mentioned in the link below, failure to encode an overlayfs file handle from a non-aliased inode also leads to failure to report an fid with FAN_DELETE_SELF fanotify events. As Dmitry notes in his analyzis of the problem, ovl_encode_fh() fails if it cannot find an alias for the inode, but this failure can be fixed. ovl_encode_fh() seldom uses the alias and in the case of non-decodable file handles, as is often the case with fanotify fid info, ovl_encode_fh() never needs to use the alias to encode a file handle. Defer finding an alias until it is actually needed so ovl_encode_fh() will not fail in the common case of FAN_DELETE_SELF fanotify events.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

5.5

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-617 CWE-617

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
linux	linux_kernel	6.6 — 6.6.74
linux	linux_kernel	6.7 — 6.12.10
linux	linux_kernel	All
linux	linux_kernel	All
linux	linux_kernel	All
linux	linux_kernel	All
linux	linux_kernel	All
linux	linux_kernel	All

References

Advisories & Patches

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3c7c90274ae339e1ad443c9be1c67a20b80b9c76 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c45beebfde34aa71afbc48b2c54cdda623515037 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f0c0ac84de17c37e6e84da65fb920f91dada55ad

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-21654? +

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ovl: support encoding fid from inode with no alias Dmitry Safonov reported that a WARN_ON() assertion can be trigered by userspace when calling inotify_show_fdinfo() for an overlayfs watched inode, whose dentry aliases were discarded with drop_caches. The WARN_ON() assertion in inotify_show_fdinfo() was removed, because it is possible for encoding file handle to fail for other reason, but the impact of failing to encode an overlayfs file handle goes beyond this assertion. As shown in the LTP test case mentioned in the link below, failure to encode an overlayfs file handle from a non-aliased inode also leads to failure to report an fid with FAN_DELETE_SELF fanotify events. As Dmitry notes in his analyzis of the problem, ovl_encode_fh() fails if it cannot find an alias for the inode, but this failure can be fixed. ovl_encode_fh() seldom uses the alias and in the case of non-decodable file handles, as is often the case with fanotify fid info, ovl_encode_fh() never needs to use the alias to encode a file handle. Defer finding an alias until it is actually needed so ovl_encode_fh() will not fail in the common case of FAN_DELETE_SELF fanotify events. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2025-21654? +

CVE-2025-21654 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.5 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance.

What products are affected by CVE-2025-21654? +

CVE-2025-21654 affects products from linux, specifically: linux_kernel. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2025-21654? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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CVE-2025-21654