Description

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

nvme-tcp: remove tag set when second admin queue config fails

Commit 104d0e2f6222 ("nvme-fabrics: reset admin connection for secure
concatenation") modified nvme_tcp_setup_ctrl() to call
nvme_tcp_configure_admin_queue() twice. The first call prepares for
DH-CHAP negotitation, and the second call is required for secure
concatenation. However, this change triggered BUG KASAN slab-use-after-
free in blk_mq_queue_tag_busy_iter(). This BUG can be recreated by
repeating the blktests test case nvme/063 a few times [1].

When the BUG happens, nvme_tcp_create_ctrl() fails in the call chain
below:

nvme_tcp_create_ctrl()
nvme_tcp_alloc_ctrl() new=true ... Alloc nvme_tcp_ctrl and admin_tag_set
nvme_tcp_setup_ctrl() new=true
nvme_tcp_configure_admin_queue() new=true ... Succeed
nvme_alloc_admin_tag_set() ... Alloc the tag set for admin_tag_set
nvme_stop_keep_alive()
nvme_tcp_teardown_admin_queue() remove=false
nvme_tcp_configure_admin_queue() new=false
nvme_tcp_alloc_admin_queue() ... Fail, but do not call nvme_remove_admin_tag_set()
nvme_uninit_ctrl()
nvme_put_ctrl() ... Free up the nvme_tcp_ctrl and admin_tag_set

The first call of nvme_tcp_configure_admin_queue() succeeds with
new=true argument. The second call fails with new=false argument. This
second call does not call nvme_remove_admin_tag_set() on failure, due to
the new=false...

Classification

CVE ID: CVE-2025-38209

Affected Products

Vendor: Linux

Product: Linux

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)

EPSS Score: 0.02% (probability of being exploited)

EPSS Percentile: 4.92% (scored less or equal to compared to others)

EPSS Date: 2025-07-10 (when was this score calculated)

References

https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38209
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/db1da838b6012e4570c6f81e28ffe1d0ff595948
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e7143706702a209c814ed2c3fc6486c2a7decf6c

Timeline