CVE-2025-21629: net: reenable NETIF_F_IPV6_CSUM offload for BIG TCP packets

Published Jan 15, 2025
·
Updated

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

net: reenable NETIFFIPV6CSUM offload for BIG TCP packets

The blamed commit disabled hardware offoad of IPv6 packets with extension headers on devices that advertise NETIFFIPV6CSUM, based on the definition of that feature in skbuff.h:

- %NETIFFIPV6CSUM - Driver (device) is only able to checksum plain TCP or UDP packets over IPv6. These are specifically unencapsulated packets of the form IPv6|TCP or IPv6|UDP where the Next Header field in the IPv6 header is either TCP or UDP. IPv6 extension headers are not supported with this feature. This feature cannot be set in features for a device with NETIFFHWCSUM also set. This feature is being DEPRECATED (see below).

The change causes skbwarnbadoffload to fire for BIG TCP packets.

[ 496.310233] WARNING: CPU: 13 PID: 23472 at net/core/dev.c:3129 skbwarnbadoffload+0xc4/0xe0

[ 496.310297] ? skbwarnbadoffload+0xc4/0xe0 [ 496.310300] skbchecksumhelp+0x129/0x1f0 [ 496.310303] skbcsumhwoffloadhelp+0x150/0x1b0 [ 496.310306] validatexmitskb+0x159/0x270 [ 496.310309] validatexmitskblist+0x41/0x70 [ 496.310312] schdirectxmit+0x5c/0x250 [ 496.310317] qdiscrun+0x388/0x620

BIG TCP introduced an IPV6TLVJUMBO IPv6 extension header to communicate packet length, as this is an IPv6 jumbogram. But, the feature is only enabled on devices that support BIG TCP TSO. The header is only present for PFPACKET taps like tcpdump, and not transmitted by physical devices.

For this specific case of extension headers that are not transmitted, return to the situation before the blamed commit and support hardware offload.

ipv6hashopoptjumbo() tests not only whether this header is present, but also that it is the only extension header before a terminal (L4) header.

Other sources

This CVE was automatically created from a reference found in an email or other text. If you are reading this, then this CVE entry is probably erroneous, since this text should be replaced by the official CVE description automatically.

Launchpad

Affected Software

20 affected componentsFixes available
Linux Linux kernel
debian/linux<=5.10.223-1, <=5.10.234-1
6.1.129-16.1.135-16.12.27-1
debian/linux-6.1
6.1.129-1~deb11u1
Linux Linux kernel>=4.19.323<4.20
Linux Linux kernel>=5.4.285<5.5
Linux Linux kernel>=5.10.229<5.11
Linux Linux kernel>=5.15.171<5.16
Linux Linux kernel>=6.1.116<6.1.124
Linux Linux kernel>=6.6.60<6.6.70
Linux Linux kernel>=6.11.7<6.12
Linux Linux kernel>=6.12.1<6.12.9
Linux Linux kernel=6.12
Linux Linux kernel=6.12-rc6
Linux Linux kernel=6.12-rc7
Linux Linux kernel=6.13-rc1
Linux Linux kernel=6.13-rc2
Linux Linux kernel=6.13-rc3
Linux Linux kernel=6.13-rc4
Linux Linux kernel=6.13-rc5
Microsoft cbl2 kernel 5.15.186.1-1

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade debian/linux to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.1.129-1Fixed in 6.1.135-1Fixed in 6.12.27-1
  2. Upgrade

    Upgrade debian/linux-6.1 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.1.129-1~deb11u1
  3. Configuration

    Re-enable NETIF_F_IPV6_CSUM hardware checksum offload for BIG TCP packets, restoring functionality that was disabled by the blamed commit.

    Linux kernel network offload (NETIF_F_IPV6_CSUM) NETIF_F_IPV6_CSUM offload for BIG TCP packets = re-enable

Event History

Jan 15, 2025
CVE Published
via MITRE·01:06 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·01:06 PM
DescriptionSeverity
Data Sourced
via NVD·01:15 PM
Description
Data Sourced
via NVD·01:15 PM
RemedySeverityAffected Software
Mar 31, 2025
Data Sourced
via Launchpad·06:51 PM
Description
Apr 28, 2025
Data Sourced
via Ubuntu·06:56 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Oct 18, 2025
Data Sourced
via Microsoft·01:01 AM
DescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software
Updated
via Microsoft·01:01 AM
DescriptionSeverity

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2025-21629?

CVE-2025-21629 is considered a moderate severity vulnerability in the Linux kernel.

2

How do I fix CVE-2025-21629?

To fix CVE-2025-21629, you should update to the latest version of the Linux kernel that includes the patch for this vulnerability.

3

What types of systems are affected by CVE-2025-21629?

CVE-2025-21629 affects systems running versions of the Linux kernel that support hardware offload for IPv6 packets with extension headers.

4

What potential impact does CVE-2025-21629 have on system security?

The vulnerability may affect the integrity and performance of network communication involving BIG TCP packets in affected Linux systems.

5

When was CVE-2025-21629 officially resolved?

CVE-2025-21629 was resolved in recent commits to the Linux kernel.

Contact

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