CVE-2025-21727 Affecting kernel-kdump package, versions *

Note: Versions mentioned in the description apply only to the upstream kernel-kdump package and not the kernel-kdump package as distributed by RHEL. See How to fix? for RHEL:7 relevant fixed versions and status.

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

padata: fix UAF in padata_reorder

A bug was found when run ltp test:

BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in padata_find_next+0x29/0x1a0 Read of size 4 at addr ffff88bbfe003524 by task kworker/u113:2/3039206

CPU: 0 PID: 3039206 Comm: kworker/u113:2 Kdump: loaded Not tainted 6.6.0+ Workqueue: pdecrypt_parallel padata_parallel_worker Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x32/0x50 print_address_description.constprop.0+0x6b/0x3d0 print_report+0xdd/0x2c0 kasan_report+0xa5/0xd0 padata_find_next+0x29/0x1a0 padata_reorder+0x131/0x220 padata_parallel_worker+0x3d/0xc0 process_one_work+0x2ec/0x5a0

If 'mdelay(10)' is added before calling 'padata_find_next' in the 'padata_reorder' function, this issue could be reproduced easily with ltp test (pcrypt_aead01).

This can be explained as bellow:

pcrypt_aead_encrypt ... padata_do_parallel refcount_inc(&pd->refcnt); // add refcnt ... padata_do_serial padata_reorder // pd while (1) { padata_find_next(pd, true); // using pd queue_work_on ... padata_serial_worker crypto_del_alg padata_put_pd_cnt // sub refcnt padata_free_shell padata_put_pd(ps->pd); // pd is freed // loop again, but pd is freed // call padata_find_next, UAF }

In the padata_reorder function, when it loops in 'while', if the alg is deleted, the refcnt may be decreased to 0 before entering 'padata_find_next', which leads to UAF.

As mentioned in [1], do_serial is supposed to be called with BHs disabled and always happen under RCU protection, to address this issue, add synchronize_rcu() in 'padata_free_shell' wait for all _do_serial calls to finish.

[1] https://lore.kernel.org/all/20221028160401.cccypv4euxikusiq@parnassus.localdomain/ [2] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-kernel/jfjz5d7zwbytztackem7ibzalm5lnxldi2eofeiczqmqs2m7o6@fq426cwnjtkm/

• https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-21727
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0ae2f332cfd2d74cf3ce344ec9938cf3e29c3ccd
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/573ac9c70bf7885dc85d82fa44550581bfc3b738
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/80231f069240d52e98b6a317456c67b2eafd0781
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bbccae982e9fa1d7abcb23a5ec81cb0ec883f7de
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e01780ea4661172734118d2a5f41bc9720765668