Bug 2422686 (CVE-2025-68214)

Summary: CVE-2025-68214 kernel: Linux kernel: Denial of Service due to NULL function pointer race in timer shutdown
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security DevOps Team <prodsec-dev>
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Priority: low    
Version: unspecifiedKeywords: Security
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Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
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A flaw was found in the Linux kernel. A race condition exists in the `timer_shutdown_sync()` function, where a timer's function pointer can be set to NULL while the timer is still active on another processor. This can be exploited by a local attacker to trigger a kernel warning, potentially leading to system instability or a denial of service.
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Description OSIDB Bzimport 2025-12-16 14:03:44 UTC
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

timers: Fix NULL function pointer race in timer_shutdown_sync()

There is a race condition between timer_shutdown_sync() and timer
expiration that can lead to hitting a WARN_ON in expire_timers().

The issue occurs when timer_shutdown_sync() clears the timer function
to NULL while the timer is still running on another CPU. The race
scenario looks like this:

CPU0					CPU1
					<SOFTIRQ>
					lock_timer_base()
					expire_timers()
					base->running_timer = timer;
					unlock_timer_base()
					[call_timer_fn enter]
					mod_timer()
					...
timer_shutdown_sync()
lock_timer_base()
// For now, will not detach the timer but only clear its function to NULL
if (base->running_timer != timer)
	ret = detach_if_pending(timer, base, true);
if (shutdown)
	timer->function = NULL;
unlock_timer_base()
					[call_timer_fn exit]
					lock_timer_base()
					base->running_timer = NULL;
					unlock_timer_base()
					...
					// Now timer is pending while its function set to NULL.
					// next timer trigger
					<SOFTIRQ>
					expire_timers()
					WARN_ON_ONCE(!fn) // hit
					...
lock_timer_base()
// Now timer will detach
if (base->running_timer != timer)
	ret = detach_if_pending(timer, base, true);
if (shutdown)
	timer->function = NULL;
unlock_timer_base()

The problem is that timer_shutdown_sync() clears the timer function
regardless of whether the timer is currently running. This can leave a
pending timer with a NULL function pointer, which triggers the
WARN_ON_ONCE(!fn) check in expire_timers().

Fix this by only clearing the timer function when actually detaching the
timer. If the timer is running, leave the function pointer intact, which is
safe because the timer will be properly detached when it finishes running.