Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ax25: Fix refcount leak caused by setting SO_BINDTODEVICE sockopt
If an AX25 device is bound to a socket by setting the SO_BINDTODEVICE socket option, a refcount leak will occur in ax25_release().
Commit 9fd75b66b8f6 ("ax25: Fix refcount leaks caused by ax25_cb_del()") added decrement of device refcounts in ax25_release(). In order for that to work correctly the refcounts must already be incremented when the device is bound to the socket. An AX25 device can be bound to a socket by either calling ax25_bind() or setting SO_BINDTODEVICE socket option. In both cases the refcounts should be incremented, but in fact it is done only in ax25_bind().
This bug leads to the following issue reported by Syzkaller:
================================================================ refcount_t: decrement hit 0; leaking memory. WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 5932 at lib/refcount.c:31 refcount_warn_saturate+0x1ed/0x210 lib/refcount.c:31 Modules linked in: CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 5932 Comm: syz-executor424 Not tainted 6.13.0-rc4-syzkaller-00110-g4099a71718b0 #0 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2~bpo12+1 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:refcount_warn_saturate+0x1ed/0x210 lib/refcount.c:31 Call Trace: <TASK> __refcount_dec include/linux/refcount.h:336 [inline] refcount_dec include/linux/refcount.h:351 [inline] ref_tracker_free+0x710/0x820 lib/ref_tracker.c:236 netdev_tracker_free include/linux/netdevice.h:4156 [inline] netdev_put include/linux/netdevice.h:4173 [inline] netdev_put include/linux/netdevice.h:4169 [inline] ax25_release+0x33f/0xa10 net/ax25/af_ax25.c:1069 __sock_release+0xb0/0x270 net/socket.c:640 sock_close+0x1c/0x30 net/socket.c:1408 ... do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:52 [inline] do_syscall_64+0xcd/0x250 arch/x86/entry/common.c:83 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f ... </TASK> ================================================================
Fix the implementation of ax25_setsockopt() by adding increment of refcounts for the new device bound, and decrement of refcounts for the old unbound device.
Metrics
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HAffected software
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | >= 9fd75b66b8f68498454d685dc4ba13192ae069b0, < 90056ece99966182dc0e367f3fd2afab46ada847; >= 9fd75b66b8f68498454d685dc4ba13192ae069b0, < 94a0de224ed52eb2ecd4f4cb1b937b674c9fb955; >= 9fd75b66b8f68498454d685dc4ba13192ae069b0, < b58f7ca86a7b8e480c06e30c5163c5d2f4e24023; >= 9fd75b66b8f68498454d685dc4ba13192ae069b0, < 470bda72fda0fcf54300466d70ce2de62f7835d2; >= 9fd75b66b8f68498454d685dc4ba13192ae069b0, < bca0902e61731a75fc4860c8720168d9f1bae3b6; c44a453ffe16eb08acdc6129ac4fa0192dbc0456; de55a1338e6a48ff1e41ea8db1432496fbe2a62b; 9e1e088a57c23251f1cfe9601bbd90ade2ea73b9; b20a5ab0f5fb175750c6bafd4cf12daccf00c738; 452ae92b99062d2f6a34324eaf705a3b7eac9f8b; 534156dd4ed768e30a43de0036f45dca7c54818f; >= 4.14.277, < 4.15; >= 4.19.240, < 4.20; >= 5.4.190, < 5.5; >= 5.10.112, < 5.11; >= 5.15.35, < 5.16; >= 5.17.2, < 5.18 |
| Linux | Linux | 5.18 |
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/470bda72fda0fcf54300466d70ce2de62f7835d2Mailing List, Patch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/90056ece99966182dc0e367f3fd2afab46ada847Mailing List, Patch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/94a0de224ed52eb2ecd4f4cb1b937b674c9fb955Mailing List, Patch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b58f7ca86a7b8e480c06e30c5163c5d2f4e24023Mailing List, Patch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bca0902e61731a75fc4860c8720168d9f1bae3b6Mailing List, Patch
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/03/msg00028.html
Timeline
- Published
- Feb 27, 2025
- Last modified
- Jul 30, 2026
- NVD status
- Modified