CVE-2025-38165
NoneCVSS
—
EPSS
0.4%
Published
Jul 3, 2025
CISA due date
—
Cloudanix analysis
A bug in the Linux kernel can cause the entire system to crash when handling certain network socket operations with large data streams.
- Exploitation
- Local Privilege
- Attacker needs
- Local User
- Complexity
- Moderate
- Impact
- Denial Of Service
- Component
- OS kernel
- Class
- Race Condition
- Remediation
- Upgrade
- Effort
- Medium
- Patch risk
- Low
What it actually does
Race condition in Linux kernel BPF sockmap causes BUG_ON(skb_shared(skb)) panic inside skb_linearize when strparser aggregates large payloads exceeding MAX_MSG_FRAGS and sk_psock_backlog performs concurrent skb operations.
Why it matters to the business
Systems running affected kernels may experience sudden kernel panics and reboots during high-volume socket operations using BPF sockmap, leading to service disruption and potential data loss in network-heavy workloads.
How an attack unfolds
An attacker triggers the vulnerable code path by sending a stream of data that forces the strparser to buffer beyond 100KB on a sockmap-enabled socket; the resulting skb_linearize call in sk_psock_skb_ingress_enqueue hits the shared skb assertion because skb_get was incorrectly placed in the backlog handler.
How to fix it
Upgrade Linux kernel to a fixed version such as 5.15.190 or apply the commit that moves skb_get into sk_psock_skb_ingress_enqueue with the take_ref parameter; rebuild and reboot affected systems.
How to confirm the fix worked
Confirm kernel version is at or above the listed fixed releases; reproduce the bench sockmap command with --rx-strp 100000 and verify absence of the pskb_expand_head BUG; inspect sk_psock_skb_ingress_enqueue for the conditional skb_get call.
Typical attack path
- Establish connection to sockmap-enabled socket
- Send traffic sized to exceed MAX_MSG_FRAGS via strparser path
- Trigger sk_psock_backlog processing
- Force skb_linearize execution
- Induce kernel BUG and panic
How to detect it
Search kernel logs for 'kernel BUG at net/core/skbuff.c:2178' and 'pskb_expand_head' stack traces originating from sk_psock_backlog; correlate with sockmap or strparser usage in system call traces.
What your security team should do
- Prioritize patching kernel packages on all systems using BPF sockmap or strparser
- Monitor for kernel oops in net/core/skbuff.c and sk_psock_backlog workqueue
- Temporarily disable sockmap verdict programs if immediate reboot is not feasible
The record
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf, sockmap: Fix panic when calling skb_linearize The panic can be reproduced by executing the command: ./bench sockmap -c 2 -p 1 -a --rx-verdict-ingress --rx-strp 100000 Then a kernel panic was captured: ''' [ 657.460555] kernel BUG at net/core/skbuff.c:2178! [ 657.462680] Tainted: [W]=WARN [ 657.463287] Workqueue: events sk_psock_backlog ... [ 657.469610] <TASK> [ 657.469738] ? die+0x36/0x90 [ 657.469916] ? do_trap+0x1d0/0x270 [ 657.470118] ? pskb_expand_head+0x612/0xf40 [ 657.470376] ? pskb_expand_head+0x612/0xf40 [ 657.470620] ? do_error_trap+0xa3/0x170 [ 657.470846] ? pskb_expand_head+0x612/0xf40 [ 657.471092] ? handle_invalid_op+0x2c/0x40 [ 657.471335] ? pskb_expand_head+0x612/0xf40 [ 657.471579] ? exc_invalid_op+0x2d/0x40 [ 657.471805] ? asm_exc_invalid_op+0x1a/0x20 [ 657.472052] ? pskb_expand_head+0xd1/0xf40 [ 657.472292] ? pskb_expand_head+0x612/0xf40 [ 657.472540] ? lock_acquire+0x18f/0x4e0 [ 657.472766] ? find_held_lock+0x2d/0x110 [ 657.472999] ? __pfx_pskb_expand_head+0x10/0x10 [ 657.473263] ? __kmalloc_cache_noprof+0x5b/0x470 [ 657.473537] ? __pfx___lock_release.isra.0+0x10/0x10 [ 657.473826] __pskb_pull_tail+0xfd/0x1d20 [ 657.474062] ? __kasan_slab_alloc+0x4e/0x90 [ 657.474707] sk_psock_skb_ingress_enqueue+0x3bf/0x510 [ 657.475392] ? __kasan_kmalloc+0xaa/0xb0 [ 657.476010] sk_psock_backlog+0x5cf/0xd70 [ 657.476637] process_one_work+0x858/0x1a20 ''' The panic originates from the assertion BUG_ON(skb_shared(skb)) in skb_linearize(). A previous commit(see Fixes tag) introduced skb_get() to avoid race conditions between skb operations in the backlog and skb release in the recvmsg path. However, this caused the panic to always occur when skb_linearize is executed. The "--rx-strp 100000" parameter forces the RX path to use the strparser module which aggregates data until it reaches 100KB before calling sockmap logic. The 100KB payload exceeds MAX_MSG_FRAGS, triggering skb_linearize. To fix this issue, just move skb_get into sk_psock_skb_ingress_enqueue. ''' sk_psock_backlog: sk_psock_handle_skb skb_get(skb) <== we move it into 'sk_psock_skb_ingress_enqueue' sk_psock_skb_ingress____________ ↓ | | → sk_psock_skb_ingress_self | sk_psock_skb_ingress_enqueue sk_psock_verdict_apply_________________↑ skb_linearize ''' Note that for verdict_apply path, the skb_get operation is unnecessary so we add 'take_ref' param to control it's behavior.
Affected packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Introduced | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:12 | linux | 0 | No fix |
| Debian:13 | linux | 0 | No fix |
| Debian:14 | linux | 0 | 6.12.35-1 |
| Linux | Kernel | 0 | 5.15.190 |
| Mageia:9 | kernel | 0 | 6.6.101-1.mga9 |
| Mageia:9 | kernel-linus | 0 | 6.6.101-1.mga9 |
| Mageia:9 | kmod-virtualbox | 0 | 7.1.10-7.mga9 |
| Mageia:9 | kmod-xtables-addons | 0 | 3.24-83.mga9 |
| Mageia:9 | wireless-regdb | 0 | 20250710-1.mga9 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.65.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.65.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP6 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP6-RT_Update_14 | 0 | 1-150600.1.5.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP6 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP6_Update_14 | 0 | 1-150600.13.3.4 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP7 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP7-RT_Update_3 | 0 | 1-150700.1.5.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | kernel-64kb | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.65.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.65.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | kernel-default-base | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.65.1.150600.12.28.4 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | kernel-source | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.65.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | kernel-zfcpdump | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.65.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Confidential Computing Technical Preview 15 SP6 | kernel-coco | 0 | 6.4.0-15061.28.coco15sp6.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Confidential Computing Technical Preview 15 SP6 | kernel-coco_debug | 0 | 6.4.0-15061.28.coco15sp6.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Confidential Computing Technical Preview 15 SP6 | kernel-source-coco | 0 | 6.4.0-15061.28.coco15sp6.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Confidential Computing Technical Preview 15 SP6 | kernel-syms-coco | 0 | 6.4.0-15061.28.coco15sp6.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP6 | kernel-docs | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.65.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP6 | kernel-obs-build | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.65.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP6 | kernel-source | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.65.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP6 | kernel-syms | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.65.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Legacy 15 SP6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.65.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP6 | kernel-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.8.48.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP6 | kernel-source-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.8.48.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP6 | kernel-syms-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.8.48.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.65.1 |
| SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP6 | kernel-rt | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.49.1 |
| SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP6 | kernel-rt_debug | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.49.1 |
| SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP6 | kernel-source-rt | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.49.1 |
| SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP6 | kernel-syms-rt | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.49.1 |
| SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP7 | kernel-rt | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.7.13.1 |
| SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP7 | kernel-source-rt | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.7.13.1 |
| SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP7 | kernel-syms-rt | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.7.13.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | dtb-aarch64 | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.65.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-64kb | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.65.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.8.48.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-debug | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.65.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.65.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-default-base | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.65.1.150600.12.28.4 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-docs | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.65.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-kvmsmall | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.65.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-obs-build | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.65.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-obs-qa | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.65.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-rt | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.49.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-rt_debug | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.49.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-source | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.65.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-source-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.8.48.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-source-rt | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.49.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-syms | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.65.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-syms-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.8.48.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-syms-rt | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.49.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-zfcpdump | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.65.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | dtb-aarch64 | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-64kb | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-default-base | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1.160000.2.4 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-docs | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-kvmsmall | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-obs-build | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-obs-qa | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-rt | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-source | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-syms | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-zfcpdump | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 |
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