DEBIAN-CVE-2025-68245
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: netpoll: fix incorrect refcount handling causing incorrect cleanup commit efa95b01da18 ("netpoll: fix use after free") incorrectly ignored the refcount and prematurely set dev->npinfo to NULL during netpoll cleanup, leading to improper behavior and memory leaks. Scenario causing lack of proper cleanup: 1) A netpoll is associated with a NIC (e.g., eth0) and netdev->npinfo is allocated, and refcnt = 1 - Keep in mind that npinfo is shared among all netpoll instances. In this case, there is just one. 2) Another netpoll is also associated with the same NIC and npinfo->refcnt += 1. - Now dev->npinfo->refcnt = 2; - There is just one npinfo associated to the netdev. 3) When the first netpolls goes to clean up: - The first cleanup succeeds and clears np->dev->npinfo, ignoring refcnt. - It basically calls `RCU_INIT_POINTER(np->dev->npinfo, NULL);` - Set dev->npinfo = NULL, without proper cleanup - No ->ndo_netpoll_cleanup() is either called 4) Now the second target tries to clean up - The second cleanup fails because np->dev->npinfo is already NULL. * In this case, ops->ndo_netpoll_cleanup() was never called, and the skb pool is not cleaned as well (for the second netpoll instance) - This leaks npinfo and skbpool skbs, which is clearly reported by kmemleak. Revert commit efa95b01da18 ("netpoll: fix use after free") and adds clarifying comments emphasizing that npinfo cleanup should only happen once the refcount reaches zero, ensuring stable and correct netpoll behavior.
Risk Scores
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Debian:14 | linux | 0, 6.12.38-1, 6.12.41-1 |
| Debian:11 | linux | 5.10.70-1~bpo10+1, 0, 5.10.120-1 |
| Debian:13 | linux | *, 6.12.48-1, 6.12.57-1 |
| Debian:12 | linux | 6.1.69-1, 6.1.27-1, 6.1.37-1 |
| Debian:11 | linux-6.1 | 6.1.147-1, 6.1.137-1, 6.1.148-1 |
Timeline
- Dec 16, 2025 CVE Published
- Apr 28, 2026 CVE Updated