CVE-2025-21853

MEDIUMNVD 5.55.5
EchelonGraph scoreMEDIUM confidence

Score 5.5 from GitHub Security Advisory published 2025-03-12. NVD baseline CVSS 5.5; sources differ by 0.0.

Triggered by: GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
Sources: epss, ghsa, nvd
5.5
EchelonGraph verdictMonitorLow exploitation likelihood right now — keep watching.
  • Lower severity and no public exploit yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS: 0%CVSS: 5.5Exploit: NoneExposed: 0

A fix is available — apply it.

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

bpf: avoid holding freeze_mutex during mmap operation

We use map->freeze_mutex to prevent races between map_freeze() and memory mapping BPF map contents with writable permissions. The way we naively do this means we'll hold freeze_mutex for entire duration of all the mm and VMA manipulations, which is completely unnecessary. This can potentially also lead to deadlocks, as reported by syzbot in [0].

So, instead, hold freeze_mutex only during writeability checks, bump (proactively) "write active" count for the map, unlock the mutex and proceed with mmap logic. And only if something went wrong during mmap logic, then undo that "write active" counter increment.

[0] https://lore.kernel.org/bpf/678dcbc9.050a0220.303755.0066.GAE@google.com/

CVSS v3
5.5
EG Score
5.5(medium)
EG Risk
EPSS
12.8%
KEV
Not listed

Published

March 12, 2025

Last Modified

July 14, 2026

Advisory Details (10)

Auto-updated Jul 17, 2026
Patch available.
generic Patch Available

[SECURITY] [DLA 4193-1] linux-6.1 security update

https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00045.html
generic Patch Available

[SECURITY] [DLA 4178-1] linux security update

https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00030.html
generic

bpf: avoid holding freeze_mutex during mmap operation - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d95607a5f2f9bb08194c9deaf4a5f3e8ba59a9d4
generic

bpf: avoid holding freeze_mutex during mmap operation - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bc27c52eea189e8f7492d40739b7746d67b65beb
generic

bpf: avoid holding freeze_mutex during mmap operation - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4759acbd44d24a69b7b14848012ec4201d6c5501
generic

bpf: avoid holding freeze_mutex during mmap operation - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2ce31c97c219b4fe797749f950274f246eb88c49
generic

bpf: avoid holding freeze_mutex during mmap operation - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/29cfda62ab4d92ab94123813db49ab76c1e61b29
generic

bpf: avoid holding freeze_mutex during mmap operation - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/271e49f8a58edba65bc2b1250a0abaa98c4bfdbe
generic

bpf: avoid holding freeze_mutex during mmap operation - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0d90d9e154144a3a80e9fc0eb9b21b7fc990f68f

Patch Availability(21)

Vendor / EcosystemFixed in / PatchReleasedSource
ubuntulinux-virtual-hwe-24.04-edge (6.11.0-26.26) @ oracular2026-05-30ubuntu
ubuntulinux-xilinx-zynqmp-tools-host (5.15.0-1052.56) @ jammy2026-05-30ubuntu
ubuntulinux-tools-intel-iotg-edge (5.15.0.1083.89~20.04.1) @ focal2026-05-30ubuntu
ubuntulinux-tools-gcp-fips-5.15 (5.15.0.1087.77) @ jammy2026-05-30ubuntu
ubuntulinux-tools-realtime-5.15 (5.15.0.1088.92) @ jammy2026-05-30ubuntu
ubuntulinux-tools-kvm-5.15 (5.15.0.1084.80) @ jammy2026-05-30ubuntu
ubuntulinux-tools-aws (6.11.0-1014.15) @ oracular2026-05-30ubuntu
ubuntulinux-virtual-hwe-20.04-edge (5.15.0.144.141) @ jammy2026-05-30ubuntu
ubuntulinux-tools-oracle-64k (6.11.0-1016.17) @ oracular2026-05-30ubuntu
ubuntulinux-virtual-6.8 (6.8.0-78.78) @ noble2026-05-30ubuntu
ubuntulinux-tools-raspi-nolpae (5.15.0.1083.81) @ jammy2026-05-30ubuntu
ubuntulinux-tools-azure-edge (5.15.0.1094.103~20.04.1) @ focal2026-05-30ubuntu
ubuntulinux-tools-azure-fips-5.15 (5.15.0.1094.79) @ jammy2026-05-30ubuntu
ubuntulinux-tools-raspi-realtime-6.8 (6.8.0-2028.29) @ noble2026-05-30ubuntu
ubuntulinux-tools-azure-lts-22.04 (5.15.0.1094.92) @ jammy2026-05-30ubuntu
ubuntulinux-tools-azure-nvidia-lts-24.04 (6.8.0-1022.23) @ noble2026-05-30ubuntu
ubuntulinux-tools-ibm-lts-24.04 (6.8.0-1033.33) @ noble2026-05-30ubuntu
ubuntulinux-tools-oracle-edge (6.8.0-1032.33~22.04.1) @ jammy2026-05-30ubuntu
ubuntulinux-virtual-hwe-22.04-edge (6.8.0-78.78~22.04.1) @ jammy2026-05-30ubuntu
redhatkernel-0:5.14.0-611.5.1.el9_72025-11-11redhat
redhatkernel-0:6.12.0-124.8.1.el10_12025-11-11redhat

Patches are aggregated from vendor advisories (Red Hat, Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub) and package ecosystems (OSV, GHSA). Multiple rows for the same upstream release have been deduplicated.

Additional Vendor Advisories

(19)

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 10× in last 7d / 48× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

  1. 2026-07-22 14:07 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-07-22 14:07 UTCEPSS rescore
  3. 2026-07-21 15:24 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-07-20 17:07 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-07-19 14:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-07-19 14:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-07-19 02:28 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-07-19 02:28 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-07-18 10:03 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-07-16 17:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-07-15 16:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-07-15 16:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-07-15 01:59 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-07-14 13:19 UTCNVD updateCVSS v3 → 5.5 · severity → MEDIUM
  15. 2026-07-14 13:11 UTCMITRE cvelistV5
  16. 2026-07-13 22:29 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-07-13 22:29 UTCEPSS rescore
  18. 2026-07-13 06:12 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-07-13 06:12 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-07-12 05:46 UTCEPSS rescore
  21. 2026-07-12 05:46 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-07-11 08:27 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-07-11 08:26 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-07-09 19:09 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-07-08 15:14 UTCEPSS rescore
Show 69 more
  1. 2026-07-07 13:45 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-07-07 07:51 UTCOSV refresh
  3. 2026-07-06 16:26 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-07-06 02:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-07-06 02:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-07-05 02:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-07-04 06:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-07-01 15:06 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-06-30 23:21 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-06-30 23:21 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-06-29 14:06 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-06-28 14:07 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-06-28 14:07 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-06-28 04:55 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-06-28 04:55 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-06-27 03:08 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-06-27 03:08 UTCEPSS rescore
  18. 2026-06-25 13:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-06-25 13:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-06-24 14:04 UTCEPSS rescore
  21. 2026-06-24 14:04 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-06-23 21:32 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-06-23 21:32 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-06-22 14:25 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-06-22 14:25 UTCEPSS rescore
  26. 2026-06-21 14:56 UTCEPSS rescore
  27. 2026-06-21 14:56 UTCEPSS rescore
  28. 2026-06-21 01:59 UTCEPSS rescore
  29. 2026-06-21 01:59 UTCEPSS rescore
  30. 2026-06-19 19:25 UTCEPSS rescore
  31. 2026-06-19 19:25 UTCEPSS rescore
  32. 2026-06-18 18:44 UTCOSV refresh
  33. 2026-06-18 17:52 UTCEPSS rescore
  34. 2026-06-18 17:52 UTCEPSS rescore
  35. 2026-06-17 17:52 UTCEPSS rescore
  36. 2026-06-16 17:52 UTCEPSS rescore
  37. 2026-06-16 17:52 UTCEPSS rescore
  38. 2026-06-15 17:48 UTCEPSS rescore
  39. 2026-06-14 23:17 UTCEPSS rescore
  40. 2026-06-13 22:59 UTCEPSS rescore
  41. 2026-06-12 23:11 UTCEPSS rescore
  42. 2026-06-11 13:59 UTCEPSS rescore
  43. 2026-06-10 22:18 UTCEPSS rescore
  44. 2026-06-10 13:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  45. 2026-06-08 14:16 UTCEPSS rescore
  46. 2026-06-08 14:16 UTCEPSS rescore
  47. 2026-06-07 15:24 UTCEPSS rescore
  48. 2026-06-07 15:24 UTCEPSS rescore
  49. 2026-06-06 13:47 UTCEPSS rescore
  50. 2026-06-06 13:47 UTCEPSS rescore
  51. 2026-06-05 22:46 UTCEPSS rescore
  52. 2026-06-05 22:46 UTCEPSS rescore
  53. 2026-06-05 06:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  54. 2026-06-05 06:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  55. 2026-06-04 13:11 UTCEPSS rescore
  56. 2026-06-04 13:11 UTCEPSS rescore
  57. 2026-06-02 20:12 UTCEPSS rescore
  58. 2026-06-02 20:12 UTCEPSS rescore
  59. 2026-06-01 13:51 UTCEPSS rescore
  60. 2026-06-01 13:51 UTCEPSS rescore
  61. 2026-05-31 22:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  62. 2026-05-31 22:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  63. 2026-05-31 00:16 UTCEPSS rescore
  64. 2026-05-31 00:16 UTCEPSS rescore
  65. 2026-05-30 09:41 UTCEG score recompute
  66. 2026-05-30 09:41 UTCVendor advisory
  67. 2026-05-30 09:40 UTCGHSA enrichment
  68. 2026-05-29 17:20 UTCOSV refresh
  69. 2026-05-29 13:44 UTCEPSS rescore

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2025-21853?
CVE-2025-21853 is a medium vulnerability published on March 12, 2025. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: avoid holding freeze_mutex during mmap operation We use map->freezemutex to prevent races between mapfreeze() and memory mapping BPF map contents with writable permissions. The way we naively do this means we'll hold…
When was CVE-2025-21853 disclosed?
CVE-2025-21853 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on March 12, 2025, with the most recent update on July 14, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2025-21853 actively exploited?
CVE-2025-21853 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 12.8% percentile likelihood of exploitation in the next 30 days — higher percentiles indicate greater predicted risk.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2025-21853?
CVE-2025-21853 has a CVSS v3 base score of 5.5 (NVD).
How do I remediate CVE-2025-21853?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2025-21853, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

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