CVE-2025-68813
Unknown Unknown - Not Provided
BaseFortify

Publication date: 2026-01-13

Last updated on: 2026-01-19

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipvs: fix ipv4 null-ptr-deref in route error path The IPv4 code path in __ip_vs_get_out_rt() calls dst_link_failure() without ensuring skb->dev is set, leading to a NULL pointer dereference in fib_compute_spec_dst() when ipv4_link_failure() attempts to send ICMP destination unreachable messages. The issue emerged after commit ed0de45a1008 ("ipv4: recompile ip options in ipv4_link_failure") started calling __ip_options_compile() from ipv4_link_failure(). This code path eventually calls fib_compute_spec_dst() which dereferences skb->dev. An attempt was made to fix the NULL skb->dev dereference in commit 0113d9c9d1cc ("ipv4: fix null-deref in ipv4_link_failure"), but it only addressed the immediate dev_net(skb->dev) dereference by using a fallback device. The fix was incomplete because fib_compute_spec_dst() later in the call chain still accesses skb->dev directly, which remains NULL when IPVS calls dst_link_failure(). The crash occurs when: 1. IPVS processes a packet in NAT mode with a misconfigured destination 2. Route lookup fails in __ip_vs_get_out_rt() before establishing a route 3. The error path calls dst_link_failure(skb) with skb->dev == NULL 4. ipv4_link_failure() → ipv4_send_dest_unreach() → __ip_options_compile() → fib_compute_spec_dst() 5. fib_compute_spec_dst() dereferences NULL skb->dev Apply the same fix used for IPv6 in commit 326bf17ea5d4 ("ipvs: fix ipv6 route unreach panic"): set skb->dev from skb_dst(skb)->dev before calling dst_link_failure(). KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000328-0x000000000000032f] CPU: 1 PID: 12732 Comm: syz.1.3469 Not tainted 6.6.114 #2 RIP: 0010:__in_dev_get_rcu include/linux/inetdevice.h:233 RIP: 0010:fib_compute_spec_dst+0x17a/0x9f0 net/ipv4/fib_frontend.c:285 Call Trace: <TASK> spec_dst_fill net/ipv4/ip_options.c:232 spec_dst_fill net/ipv4/ip_options.c:229 __ip_options_compile+0x13a1/0x17d0 net/ipv4/ip_options.c:330 ipv4_send_dest_unreach net/ipv4/route.c:1252 ipv4_link_failure+0x702/0xb80 net/ipv4/route.c:1265 dst_link_failure include/net/dst.h:437 __ip_vs_get_out_rt+0x15fd/0x19e0 net/netfilter/ipvs/ip_vs_xmit.c:412 ip_vs_nat_xmit+0x1d8/0xc80 net/netfilter/ipvs/ip_vs_xmit.c:764
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Meta Information
Published
2026-01-13
Last Modified
2026-01-19
Generated
2026-05-07
AI Q&A
2026-01-14
EPSS Evaluated
2026-05-05
NVD
CVE-2025-68813
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel *
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?

This vulnerability is a NULL pointer dereference in the IPv4 code path of the Linux kernel's IP Virtual Server (IPVS) component. Specifically, when IPVS processes a packet in NAT mode with a misconfigured destination, a route lookup fails and the error handling code calls dst_link_failure() with a NULL skb->dev pointer. This leads to a NULL pointer dereference in fib_compute_spec_dst() when it tries to access skb->dev, causing a kernel crash. The issue arises because the code does not properly set skb->dev before calling dst_link_failure(), and a previous attempted fix was incomplete.


How can this vulnerability impact me? :

This vulnerability can cause a kernel crash (NULL pointer dereference) when IPVS processes certain packets with misconfigured destinations. This can lead to denial of service (DoS) conditions on affected Linux systems running IPVS, potentially disrupting network services and affecting system stability.


What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?

Apply the fix that sets skb->dev from skb_dst(skb)->dev before calling dst_link_failure(), as done in the referenced commit for IPv6. This involves updating the Linux kernel to a version that includes this fix to prevent the NULL pointer dereference in the IPv4 IPVS code path.


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