CVE-2025-23142

CVE-2025-23142 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-416.

Key facts

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sctp: detect and prevent references to a freed transport in sendmsg sctp_sendmsg() re-uses associations and transports when possible by doing a lookup based on the socket endpoint and the message destination address, and then sctp_sendmsg_to_asoc() sets the selected transport in all the message chunks to be sent. There's a possible race condition if another thread triggers the removal of that selected transport, for instance, by explicitly unbinding an address with setsockopt(SCTP_SOCKOPT_BINDX_REM), after the chunks have been set up and before the message is sent. This can happen if the send buffer is full, during the period when the sender thread temporarily releases the socket lock in sctp_wait_for_sndbuf(). This causes the access to the transport data in sctp_outq_select_transport(), when the association outqueue is flushed, to result in a use-after-free read. This change avoids this scenario by having sctp_transport_free() signal the freeing of the transport, tagging it as "dead". In order to do this, the patch restores the "dead" bit in struct sctp_transport, which was removed in commit 47faa1e4c50e ("sctp: remove the dead field of sctp_transport"). Then, in the scenario where the sender thread has released the socket lock in sctp_wait_for_sndbuf(), the bit is checked again after re-acquiring the socket lock to detect the deletion. This is done while holding a reference to the transport to prevent it from being freed in the process. If the transport was deleted while the socket lock was relinquished, sctp_sendmsg_to_asoc() will return -EAGAIN to let userspace retry the send. The bug was found by a private syzbot instance (see the error report [1] and the C reproducer that triggers it [2]).

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-23142?
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sctp: detect and prevent references to a freed transport in sendmsg sctp_sendmsg() re-uses associations and transports when possible by doing a lookup based on the socket endpoint and the message destination address, and then sctp_sendmsg_to_asoc() sets the selected transport in all the message chunks to be sent. There's a possible race condition if another thread triggers the removal of that selected transport, for instance, by explicitly unbinding an address with setsockopt(SCTP_SOCKOPT_BINDX_REM), after the chunks have been set up and before the message is sent. This can happen if the send buffer is full, during the period when the sender thread temporarily releases the socket lock in sctp_wait_for_sndbuf(). This causes the access to the transport data in sctp_outq_select_transport(), when the association outqueue is flushed, to result in a use-after-free read. This change avoids this scenario by having sctp_transport_free() signal the freeing of the transport, tagging it as "dead". In order to do this, the patch restores the "dead" bit in struct sctp_transport, which was removed in commit 47faa1e4c50e ("sctp: remove the dead field of sctp_transport"). Then, in the scenario where the sender thread has released the socket lock in sctp_wait_for_sndbuf(), the bit is checked again after re-acquiring the socket lock to detect the deletion. This is done while holding a reference to the transport to prevent it from being freed in the process. If the transport was deleted while the socket lock was relinquished, sctp_sendmsg_to_asoc() will return -EAGAIN to let userspace retry the send. The bug was found by a private syzbot instance (see the error report [1] and the C reproducer that triggers it [2]).
How severe is CVE-2025-23142?
CVE-2025-23142 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2025-23142 being actively exploited?
It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (8th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2025-23142?
CVE-2025-23142 primarily affects Linux Linux Kernel. In total, 3 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2025-23142?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
Does CVE-2025-23142 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?
Yes. CVE-2025-23142 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2025-13103.
When was CVE-2025-23142 published?
CVE-2025-23142 was published on 2025-05-01 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (3)

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