CVE-2025-21694
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs/proc: fix softlockup in __read_vmcore (part 2) Since commit 5cbcb62dddf5 ("fs/proc: fix softlockup in __read_vmcore") the number of softlockups in __read_vmcore at kdump time have gone down, but they still happen sometimes. In a memory constrained environment like the kdump image, a softlockup is not just a harmless message, but it can interfere with things like RCU freeing memory, causing the crashdump to get stuck. The second loop in __read_vmcore has a lot more opportunities for natural sleep points, like scheduling out while waiting for a data write to happen, but apparently that is not always enough. Add a cond_resched() to the second loop in __read_vmcore to (hopefully) get rid of the softlockups.
Predictions
Heuristic predictions, AS-IS, for prioritization only.
Mitigations
No mitigations published for this CVE yet.
The vendor-content worker queues fetches as references arrive (check back in a few minutes). Or — if you've already worked around this in production — publish your fix to the community-verified tier.
✚ Propose a mitigation on Community → Mitigations published via the community go through AI scoring + 2 human reviewers + 7-day silent objection window before landing here withsource_tier=community-verified.
OS impact
| OS | Version | Status | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| rhel | 9 | fixed | |
| sles | affected | | |
| debian | bookworm | fixed | 6.1.128-1 |
| debian | bullseye | fixed | 5.10.234-1 |
| debian | forky | fixed | 6.12.11-1 |
| debian | sid | fixed | 6.12.11-1 |
| debian | trixie | fixed | 6.12.11-1 |
| linux-kernel | affected | 4.20 | |
| linux-kernel | 6.13 | affected | |
References
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:6966
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/649b266606bc413407ce315f710c8ce8a88ee30a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/65c367bd9d4f43513c7f837df5753bea9561b836
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/80828540dad0757b6337c6561d49c81038f38d87
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/80da29deb88a3a907441fc35bb7bac309f31e713
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/84c4ed15626574c9ac6c1039ba9c137a77bcc7f2
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a5a2ee8144c3897d37403a69118c3e3dc5713958
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cbc5dde0a461240046e8a41c43d7c3b76d5db952
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/03/msg00001.html
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/03/msg00002.html
- https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-265688.html
- https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-355557.html
- https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-398330.html
- https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-21694.html
- https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2025-21694
Community-verified mitigations for this CVE will appear above when contributors publish them.
Verify integrity in audit chain (admin only). AS-IS.