Bug 2423608 (CVE-2025-68325)

Summary: CVE-2025-68325 kernel: net/sched: sch_cake: Fix incorrect qlen reduction in cake_drop
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security DevOps Team <prodsec-dev>
Status: NEW --- QA Contact:
Severity: unspecified Docs Contact:
Priority: unspecified    
Version: unspecifiedCC: rhel-process-autobot, watson-tool-maintainers
Target Milestone: ---Keywords: Security
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 2025-12-18 16:02:36 UTC 
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net/sched: sch_cake: Fix incorrect qlen reduction in cake_drop

In cake_drop(), qdisc_tree_reduce_backlog() is used to update the qlen
and backlog of the qdisc hierarchy. Its caller, cake_enqueue(), assumes
that the parent qdisc will enqueue the current packet. However, this
assumption breaks when cake_enqueue() returns NET_XMIT_CN: the parent
qdisc stops enqueuing current packet, leaving the tree qlen/backlog
accounting inconsistent. This mismatch can lead to a NULL dereference
(e.g., when the parent Qdisc is qfq_qdisc).

This patch computes the qlen/backlog delta in a more robust way by
observing the difference before and after the series of cake_drop()
calls, and then compensates the qdisc tree accounting if cake_enqueue()
returns NET_XMIT_CN.

To ensure correct compensation when ACK thinning is enabled, a new
variable is introduced to keep qlen unchanged.
Comment 1 Keith Grant 2025-12-18 20:02:42 UTC 
Upstream advisory:
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/2025121802-CVE-2025-68325-13a9@gregkh/T