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CVE-2025-22021

10.0 · CRITICAL

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: socket: Lookup orig tuple for IPv6 SNAT nf_sk_lookup_slow_v4 does the conntrack lookup for IPv4 packets to restore t…

Published Apr 16, 2025EPSS 0.47%

Overview

CVE-2025-22021 is a critical-severity vulnerability. It was published on April 16, 2025 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 10.0 (CRITICAL).

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 10.0, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

Technical description

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

netfilter: socket: Lookup orig tuple for IPv6 SNAT

nf_sk_lookup_slow_v4 does the conntrack lookup for IPv4 packets to

restore the original 5-tuple in case of SNAT, to be able to find the

right socket (if any). Then socket_match() can correctly check whether

the socket was transparent.

However, the IPv6 counterpart (nf_sk_lookup_slow_v6) lacks this

conntrack lookup, making xt_socket fail to match on the socket when the

packet was SNATed. Add the same logic to nf_sk_lookup_slow_v6.

IPv6 SNAT is used in Kubernetes clusters for pod-to-world packets, as

pods' addresses are in the fd00::/8 ULA subnet and need to be replaced

with the node's external address. Cilium leverages Envoy to enforce L7

policies, and Envoy uses transparent sockets. Cilium inserts an iptables

prerouting rule that matches on `-m socket --transparent` and redirects

the packets to localhost, but it fails to match SNATed IPv6 packets due

to that missin

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-2025-22021?

CVE-2025-22021 is a critical-severity vulnerability. It was published on April 16, 2025 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 10.0 (CRITICAL).

How severe is CVE-2025-22021?

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 10.0, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

How do I fix or remediate CVE-2025-22021?

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-2025-22021?

CyberStrike is an open-source, AI-augmented pentesting engine. Rather than flag a version number, it tests whether an issue like CVE-2025-22021 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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