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CVE-2025-21840

5.5 · MEDIUM

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: thermal/netlink: Prevent userspace segmentation fault by adjusting UAPI header The intel-lpmd tool [1], which uses the THERMAL_…

Published Mar 7, 2025EPSS 0.21%

Overview

CVE-2025-21840 is a medium-severity vulnerability. It was published on March 7, 2025 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.

Technical description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

thermal/netlink: Prevent userspace segmentation fault by adjusting UAPI header

The intel-lpmd tool [1], which uses the THERMAL_GENL_ATTR_CPU_CAPABILITY

attribute to receive HFI events from kernel space, encounters a

segmentation fault after commit 1773572863c4 ("thermal: netlink: Add the

commands and the events for the thresholds").

The issue arises because the THERMAL_GENL_ATTR_CPU_CAPABILITY raw value

was changed while intel_lpmd still uses the old value.

Although intel_lpmd can be updated to check the THERMAL_GENL_VERSION and

use the appropriate THERMAL_GENL_ATTR_CPU_CAPABILITY value, the commit

itself is questionable.

The commit introduced a new element in the middle of enum thermal_genl_attr,

which affects many existing attributes and introduces potential risks

and unnecessary maintenance burdens for userspace thermal netlink event

users.

Solve the issue by moving the newly introduced

THERMAL_GENL_ATTR_TZ_PR

Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-21840?

CVE-2025-21840 is a medium-severity vulnerability. It was published on March 7, 2025 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2025-21840?

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.

How do I fix or remediate CVE-2025-21840?

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2025-21840?

CyberStrike is an open-source, AI-augmented pentesting engine. Rather than flag a version number, it tests whether an issue like CVE-2025-21840 is actually reachable in your own applications and APIs, then verifies each finding before reporting it. That tells you if the weakness is a real, exploitable risk in your environment or a false positive you can safely deprioritize.

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