Race Condition Vulnerability in Linux Kernel's ETS - CVE-2025-38107
Summary
CVE-2025-38107: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net_sched: ets: fix a race in ets_qdisc_change() Gerrard Tai reported a race condition in ETS, whenever SFQ perturb timer fires at the wrong time. Affects linux versions 5.10.103-1 – 6.9.9-1. No fix is published. How to fix ↓
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Background
The Linux kernel is the core component of many operating systems, providing essential services for hardware and software interactions. It is known for its stability, performance, and flexibility, making it a popular choice for various applications. This vulnerability specifically affects the Enhanced Transmission Selection (ETS) feature within the kernel's networking subsystem, which is responsible for managing bandwidth allocation in network traffic. The vulnerability arises from a race condition that can lead to unexpected behavior in packet scheduling.
Vulnerability Detail
CVE-2025-38107 is a race condition vulnerability in the Linux kernel's ETS feature. It was reported by Gerrard Tai and occurs when the Stochastic Fairness Queueing (SFQ) perturb timer fires at an inappropriate time. The race condition can be exploited by manipulating the timing of operations on the queue, potentially leading to an underflow of a parent's queue length (qlen). This could result in degraded network performance or denial of service, as packets may not be processed correctly.
How To Fix
No fixed version is published for this vulnerability.
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Workaround
As a temporary workaround, users can call the 'qdisc_purge_queue()' function instead of 'qdisc_tree_flush_backlog()' in the affected code. This ensures that all packets are purged from the queue before releasing the lock, thus mitigating the race condition until a proper patch is applied.
Conclusion
CVE-2025-38107 is a significant vulnerability in the Linux kernel that can lead to network performance issues due to a race condition in the ETS feature. Users are advised to update their systems to the latest patched version to mitigate risks. In the meantime, applying the suggested workaround can help reduce the impact of this vulnerability.
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FAQ
CVE-2025-38107 is a race condition vulnerability in the Linux kernel's Enhanced Transmission Selection (ETS) feature that can lead to packet scheduling issues.
Exploitation of this vulnerability may result in degraded network performance or denial of service due to improper handling of network packets.
You can check if your application is affected by using Vulert, which monitors and alerts for open-source vulnerabilities. Visit Vulert Scanner to analyze your manifest file.
If an immediate update is not possible, consider implementing the workaround by using 'qdisc_purge_queue()' to mitigate the race condition.
Detailed information about CVE-2025-38107 can be found in the official CVE database or through security advisories from your Linux distribution.
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