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How the mentioned CVE works:
This vulnerability exists within the Quality of Service (QoS) HTB scheduler of the octeontx2-pf network driver in the Linux kernel. The issue occurs during the deletion of a leaf node in the HTB queueing discipline. When the `TC_HTB_LEAF_DEL_LAST` callback is triggered, the driver fails to properly stop active network traffic on the leaf node before reassigning its send queue to the parent node. This flawed sequence creates a race condition where the network device’s queues can be manipulated after the device has begun an unregistration process, leading to a use-after-free condition. The kernel attempts to update kernel objects for queues that are no longer valid, triggering a warning and potentially allowing for a crash or code execution.
Platform: Linux Kernel
Version: octeontx2-pf driver
Vulnerability : Use-After-Free
Severity: High
date: 07/10/2025
Prediction: Patch expected by 07/24/2025
What Undercode Say:
git log --oneline --grep="octeontx2-pf" --author=kernel.org
// Code snippet from the driver callback
static int otx2_htb_leaf_del_last(struct net_device dev, ...) {
// ... logic to reassign send queue ...
netdev_queue_update_kobjects(dev, ...); // Warning triggered here
}
dmesg | grep "WARNING.net-sysfs"
How Exploit:
Exploitation requires local access to trigger specific TC commands for deleting HTB leaf nodes while high-volume network traffic is active. An attacker could use this to cause a kernel panic (Denial of Service) or potentially achieve arbitrary code execution in the kernel context by manipulating the freed queue memory.
Protection from this CVE:
Apply kernel patch.
Update system.
Use stable kernels.
Impact:
Kernel Panic
Denial of Service
Potential Privilege Escalation
🎯Let’s Practice Exploiting & Learn Patching For Free:
Sources:
Reported By: nvd.nist.gov
Extra Source Hub:
Undercode
