In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net: esp: fix bad handling of pages from page_pool
When the skb is reorganized during esp_output (!esp->inline), the pages coming from the original skb fragments are supposed to be released back to the system through put_page. But if the skb fragment pages are originating from a page_pool, calling put_page on them will trigger a page_pool leak which will eventually result in a crash.
This leak can be easily observed when using CONFIG_DEBUG_VM and doing ipsec + gre (non offloaded) forwarding:
BUG: Bad page state in process ksoftirqd/16 pfn:1451b6 page:00000000de2b8d32 refcount:0 mapcount:0 mapping:0000000000000000 index:0x1451b6000 pfn:0x1451b6 flags: 0x200000000000000(node=0|zone=2) page_type: 0xffffffff() raw: 0200000000000000 dead000000000040 ffff88810d23c000 0000000000000000 raw: 00000001451b6000 0000000000000001 00000000ffffffff 0000000000000000 page dumped because: page_pool leak Modules linked in: ip_gre gre mlx5_ib mlx5_core xt_conntrack xt_MASQUERADE nf_conntrack_netlink nfnetlink iptable_nat nf_nat xt_addrtype br_netfilter rpcrdma rdma_ucm ib_iser libiscsi scsi_transport_iscsi ib_umad rdma_cm ib_ipoib iw_cm ib_cm ib_uverbs ib_core overlay zram zsmalloc fuse [last unloaded: mlx5_core] CPU: 16 PID: 96 Comm: ksoftirqd/16 Not tainted 6.8.0-rc4+ #22 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS rel-1.13.0-0-gf21b5a4aeb02-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x36/0x50 bad_page+0x70/0xf0 free_unref_page_prepare+0x27a/0x460 free_unref_page+0x38/0x120 esp_ssg_unref.isra.0+0x15f/0x200 esp_output_tail+0x66d/0x780 esp_xmit+0x2c5/0x360 validate_xmit_xfrm+0x313/0x370 ? validate_xmit_skb+0x1d/0x330 validate_xmit_skb_list+0x4c/0x70 sch_direct_xmit+0x23e/0x350 __dev_queue_xmit+0x337/0xba0 ? nf_hook_slow+0x3f/0xd0 ip_finish_output2+0x25e/0x580 iptunnel_xmit+0x19b/0x240 ip_tunnel_xmit+0x5fb/0xb60 ipgre_xmit+0x14d/0x280 [ip_gre] dev_hard_start_xmit+0xc3/0x1c0 __dev_queue_xmit+0x208/0xba0 ? nf_hook_slow+0x3f/0xd0 ip_finish_output2+0x1ca/0x580 ip_sublist_rcv_finish+0x32/0x40 ip_sublist_rcv+0x1b2/0x1f0 ? ip_rcv_finish_core.constprop.0+0x460/0x460 ip_list_rcv+0x103/0x130 __netif_receive_skb_list_core+0x181/0x1e0 netif_receive_skb_list_internal+0x1b3/0x2c0 napi_gro_receive+0xc8/0x200 gro_cell_poll+0x52/0x90 __napi_poll+0x25/0x1a0 net_rx_action+0x28e/0x300 __do_softirq+0xc3/0x276 ? sort_range+0x20/0x20 run_ksoftirqd+0x1e/0x30 smpboot_thread_fn+0xa6/0x130 kthread+0xcd/0x100 ? kthread_complete_and_exit+0x20/0x20 ret_from_fork+0x31/0x50 ? kthread_complete_and_exit+0x20/0x20 ret_from_fork_asm+0x11/0x20 </TASK>
The suggested fix is to introduce a new wrapper (skb_page_unref) that covers page refcounting for page_pool pages as well.
CVSS Details
- CVSS 3.1 Base Score: 9.8
- CVSS 3.1 Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H)
Covered by Rapid7
| Product | Vendor Advisory | Solution File | Added | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debian | — | Upgrade linux | May 15, 2025 | May 1, 2024 |
| Huawei Euleros 2_0_sp11 | — | Upgrade kernel-toolsUpgrade kernelUpgrade kernel-tools-libsUpgrade bpftoolUpgrade kernel-abi-stablelistsUpgrade python3-perf | Oct 8, 2024 | May 1, 2024 |
| Huawei Euleros 2_0_sp12 | — | Upgrade bpftoolUpgrade kernel-tools-libsUpgrade kernel-abi-stablelistsUpgrade kernelUpgrade kernel-toolsUpgrade python3-perf | Oct 9, 2024 | May 1, 2024 |
| Redhat_linux | — | Upgrade kernel-rtUpgrade kernelNo solution exists | Dec 5, 2024 | May 1, 2024 |
| Suse | — | Upgrade dtb-socionextUpgrade kernel-obs-buildUpgrade dlm-kmp-rtUpgrade kernel-default-optionalUpgrade dtb-allwinnerUpgrade kernel-defaultUpgrade cluster-md-kmp-rtUpgrade dlm-kmp-defaultUpgrade dtb-rockchipUpgrade dtb-nvidiaUpgrade gfs2-kmp-azureUpgrade reiserfs-kmp-64kbUpgrade reiserfs-kmp-rtUpgrade kernel-rt-optionalUpgrade kernel-default-base-rebuildUpgrade dtb-renesasUpgrade kernel-64kb-extraUpgrade gfs2-kmp-defaultUpgrade kernel-rt_debug-develUpgrade kselftests-kmp-rtUpgrade kernel-rt_debugUpgrade kernel-kvmsmall-vdsoUpgrade dtb-sprdUpgrade kernel-debug-vdsoUpgrade kernel-default-baseUpgrade kernel-rt-vdsoUpgrade dtb-armUpgrade cluster-md-kmp-64kbUpgrade dtb-caviumUpgrade ocfs2-kmp-defaultUpgrade reiserfs-kmp-defaultUpgrade kernel-docsUpgrade ocfs2-kmp-azureUpgrade kernel-default-livepatch-develUpgrade kselftests-kmp-defaultUpgrade kselftests-kmp-azureUpgrade kernel-source-rtUpgrade kernel-source-vanillaUpgrade reiserfs-kmp-azureUpgrade kernel-develUpgrade kernel-rt-extraUpgrade dlm-kmp-azureUpgrade kernel-azureUpgrade gfs2-kmp-rtUpgrade dtb-hisiliconUpgrade kernel-devel-azureUpgrade kernel-azure-optionalUpgrade cluster-md-kmp-azureUpgrade kernel-rt-livepatchUpgrade kernel-debugUpgrade kernel-azure-extraUpgrade dtb-exynosUpgrade kernel-default-vdsoUpgrade dtb-alteraUpgrade kernel-64kb-develUpgrade kernel-debug-develUpgrade dtb-mediatekUpgrade kernel-kvmsmall-develUpgrade kselftests-kmp-64kbUpgrade kernel-sourceUpgrade ocfs2-kmp-64kbUpgrade kernel-syms-azureUpgrade kernel-rt_debug-vdsoUpgrade kernel-obs-qaUpgrade kernel-default-extraUpgrade kernel-64kb-optionalUpgrade dtb-apmUpgrade dtb-amlogicUpgrade kernel-rt-livepatch-develUpgrade kernel-symsUpgrade dtb-marvellUpgrade kernel-kvmsmallUpgrade kernel-docs-htmlUpgrade kernel-azure-develUpgrade dtb-qcomUpgrade dtb-lgUpgrade dtb-appleUpgrade dtb-amazonUpgrade cluster-md-kmp-defaultUpgrade kernel-rtUpgrade dtb-freescaleUpgrade kernel-default-develUpgrade kernel-syms-rtUpgrade kernel-zfcpdumpUpgrade kernel-macrosUpgrade ocfs2-kmp-rtUpgrade kernel-devel-rtUpgrade kernel-default-livepatchUpgrade kernel-azure-vdsoUpgrade dtb-amdUpgrade kernel-source-azureUpgrade kernel-64kbUpgrade dtb-broadcomUpgrade kernel-rt-develUpgrade dtb-xilinxUpgrade gfs2-kmp-64kbUpgrade dlm-kmp-64kb | Dec 5, 2025 | Dec 13, 2024 |
| Ubuntu | — | Upgrade linux-image-6.8.0-35-genericUpgrade linux-image-6.8.0-35-lowlatency-64kUpgrade linux-image-awsUpgrade linux-image-6.8.0-1008-gcpUpgrade linux-image-6.8.0-35-generic-64kUpgrade linux-image-azureUpgrade linux-image-6.8.0-1006-ibmUpgrade linux-image-raspiUpgrade linux-image-gkeUpgrade linux-image-generic-64k-hwe-24.04Upgrade linux-image-6.8.0-35-lowlatencyUpgrade linux-image-6.8.0-1008-azure-fdeUpgrade linux-image-oracleUpgrade linux-image-oem-24.04Upgrade linux-image-6.8.0-1004-gkeUpgrade linux-image-lowlatencyUpgrade linux-image-oracle-64kUpgrade linux-image-ibmUpgrade linux-image-6.8.0-1005-raspiUpgrade linux-image-virtualUpgrade linux-image-6.8.0-1008-azureUpgrade linux-image-generic-hwe-24.04Upgrade linux-image-6.8.0-1006-oracleUpgrade linux-image-ibm-lts-24.04Upgrade linux-image-genericUpgrade linux-image-kvmUpgrade linux-image-oem-24.04aUpgrade linux-image-ibm-classicUpgrade linux-image-virtual-hwe-24.04Upgrade linux-image-generic-lpaeUpgrade linux-image-gcpUpgrade linux-image-generic-64kUpgrade linux-image-lowlatency-64kUpgrade linux-image-6.8.0-1009-awsUpgrade linux-image-6.8.0-1006-oemUpgrade linux-image-6.8.0-1006-oracle-64kUpgrade linux-image-azure-fde | Jul 1, 2024 | May 1, 2024 |
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