Bug 2376060 (CVE-2025-38097)

Summary: CVE-2025-38097 kernel: espintcp: remove encap socket caching to avoid reference leak
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security DevOps Team <prodsec-dev>
Status: NEW --- QA Contact:
Severity: low Docs Contact:
Priority: low    
Version: unspecifiedKeywords: Security
Target Milestone: ---   
Target Release: ---   
Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
Whiteboard:
Fixed In Version: Doc Type: ---
Doc Text:
Story Points: ---
Clone Of: Environment:
Last Closed: Type: ---
Regression: --- Mount Type: ---
Documentation: --- CRM:
Verified Versions: Category: ---
oVirt Team: --- RHEL 7.3 requirements from Atomic Host:
Cloudforms Team: --- Target Upstream Version:
Embargoed:

Description OSIDB Bzimport 2025-07-03 09:02:56 UTC
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

espintcp: remove encap socket caching to avoid reference leak

The current scheme for caching the encap socket can lead to reference
leaks when we try to delete the netns.

The reference chain is: xfrm_state -> enacp_sk -> netns

Since the encap socket is a userspace socket, it holds a reference on
the netns. If we delete the espintcp state (through flush or
individual delete) before removing the netns, the reference on the
socket is dropped and the netns is correctly deleted. Otherwise, the
netns may not be reachable anymore (if all processes within the ns
have terminated), so we cannot delete the xfrm state to drop its
reference on the socket.

This patch results in a small (~2% in my tests) performance
regression.

A GC-type mechanism could be added for the socket cache, to clear
references if the state hasn't been used "recently", but it's a lot
more complex than just not caching the socket.

Comment 1 Avinash Hanwate 2025-07-03 17:51:57 UTC
Upstream advisory:
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/2025070305-CVE-2025-38097-287c@gregkh/T