CVE-2025-21920: linux kernel Out-of-bounds Read — Fix

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vlan: enforce underlying device type Currently, VLAN devices can be created on top of non-ethernet devices. Besides the fact that it doesn't make much sense, this also causes a bug which leaks the address of a kernel function to usermode. When creating a VLAN device, we initialize GARP (garp_init_applicant) and MRP (mrp_init_applicant) for the underlying device. As part of the initialization process, we add the multicast address of each applicant to the underlying device, by calling dev_mc_add. __dev_mc_add uses dev->addr_len to determine the length of the new multicast address. This causes an out-of-bounds read if dev->addr_len is greater than 6, since the multicast addresses provided by GARP and MRP are only 6 bytes long. This behaviour can be reproduced using the following commands: ip tunnel add gretest mode ip6gre local ::1 remote ::2 dev lo ip l set up dev gretest ip link add link gretest name vlantest type vlan id 100 Then, the following command will display the address of garp_pdu_rcv: ip maddr show | grep 01:80:c2:00:00:21 Fix the bug by enforcing the type of the underlying device during VLAN device initialization.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

7.1

HIGH

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

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-125 Out-of-bounds Read

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
linux	linux_kernel	2.6.35 — 5.4.291
linux	linux_kernel	5.5 — 5.10.235
linux	linux_kernel	5.11 — 5.15.179
linux	linux_kernel	5.16 — 6.1.131
linux	linux_kernel	6.2 — 6.6.83
linux	linux_kernel	6.7 — 6.12.19
linux	linux_kernel	6.13 — 6.13.7
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/0fb7aa04c19eac4417f360a9f7611a60637bdacc https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/30e8aee77899173a82ae5ed89f536c096f20aaeb https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3561442599804905c3defca241787cd4546e99a7 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5a515d13e15536e82c5c7c83eb6cf5bc4827fee5 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7f1564b2b2072b7aa1ac75350e9560a07c7a44fd https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b33a534610067ade2bdaf2052900aaad99701353 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b6c72479748b7ea09f53ed64b223cee6463dc278 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fa40ebef69234e39ec2d26930d045f2fb9a8cb2b

Other References

https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00030.html https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00045.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-21920? +

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vlan: enforce underlying device type Currently, VLAN devices can be created on top of non-ethernet devices. Besides the fact that it doesn't make much sense, this also causes a bug which leaks the address of a kernel function to usermode. When creating a VLAN device, we initialize GARP (garp_init_applicant) and MRP (mrp_init_applicant) for the underlying device. As part of the initialization process, we add the multicast address of each applicant to the underlying device, by calling dev_mc_add. __dev_mc_add uses dev->addr_len to determine the length of the new multicast address. This causes an out-of-bounds read if dev->addr_len is greater than 6, since the multicast addresses provided by GARP and MRP are only 6 bytes long. This behaviour can be reproduced using the following commands: ip tunnel add gretest mode ip6gre local ::1 remote ::2 dev lo ip l set up dev gretest ip link add link gretest name vlantest type vlan id 100 Then, the following command will display the address of garp_pdu_rcv: ip maddr show | grep 01:80:c2:00:00:21 Fix the bug by enforcing the type of the underlying device during VLAN device initialization. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.1 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2025-21920? +

CVE-2025-21920 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.1 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching.

What products are affected by CVE-2025-21920? +

CVE-2025-21920 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-2025-21920? +

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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