In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ipv4: route: Prevent rt_bind_exception() from rebinding stale fnhe
The sit driver's packet transmission path calls: sit_tunnel_xmit() ->
update_or_create_fnhe(), which lead to fnhe_remove_oldest() being called
to delete entries exceeding FNHE_RECLAIM_DEPTH+random.
The race window is between fnhe_remove_oldest() selecting fnheX for
deletion and the subsequent kfree_rcu(). During this time, the
concurrent path's __mkroute_output() -> find_exception() can fetch the
soon-to-be-deleted fnheX, and rt_bind_exception() then binds it with a
new dst using a dst_hold(). When the original fnheX is freed via RCU,
the dst reference remains permanently leaked.
CPU 0 CPU 1
__mkroute_output()
find_exception() [fnheX]
update_or_create_fnhe()
fnhe_remove_oldest() [fnheX]
rt_bind_exception() [bind dst]
RCU callback [fnheX freed, dst leak]
This issue manifests as a device reference count leak and a warning in
dmesg when unregistering the net device:
unregister_netdevice: waiting for sitX to become free. Usage count = N
Ido Schimmel provided the simple test validation method [1].
The fix clears 'oldest->fnhe_daddr' before calling fnhe_flush_routes().
Since rt_bind_exception() checks this field, setting it to zero prevents
the stale fnhe from being reused and bound to a new dst just before it
is freed.
[1]
ip netns add ns1
ip -n ns1 link set dev lo up
ip -n ns1 address add 192.0.2.1/32 dev lo
ip -n ns1 link add name dummy1 up type dummy
ip -n ns1 route add 192.0.2.2/32 dev dummy1
ip -n ns1 link add name gretap1 up arp off type gretap \
local 192.0.2.1 remote 192.0.2.2
ip -n ns1 route add 198.51.0.0/16 dev gretap1
taskset -c 0 ip netns exec ns1 mausezahn gretap1 \
-A 198.51.100.1 -B 198.51.0.0/16 -t udp -p 1000 -c 0 -q &
taskset -c 2 ip netns exec ns1 mausezahn gretap1 \
-A 198.51.100.1 -B 198.51.0.0/16 -t udp -p 1000 -c 0 -q &
sleep 10
ip netns pids ns1 | xargs kill
ip netns del ns1
ipv4: route: Prevent rt_bind_exception() from rebinding stale fnhe
The sit driver's packet transmission path calls: sit_tunnel_xmit() ->
update_or_create_fnhe(), which lead to fnhe_remove_oldest() being called
to delete entries exceeding FNHE_RECLAIM_DEPTH+random.
The race window is between fnhe_remove_oldest() selecting fnheX for
deletion and the subsequent kfree_rcu(). During this time, the
concurrent path's __mkroute_output() -> find_exception() can fetch the
soon-to-be-deleted fnheX, and rt_bind_exception() then binds it with a
new dst using a dst_hold(). When the original fnheX is freed via RCU,
the dst reference remains permanently leaked.
CPU 0 CPU 1
__mkroute_output()
find_exception() [fnheX]
update_or_create_fnhe()
fnhe_remove_oldest() [fnheX]
rt_bind_exception() [bind dst]
RCU callback [fnheX freed, dst leak]
This issue manifests as a device reference count leak and a warning in
dmesg when unregistering the net device:
unregister_netdevice: waiting for sitX to become free. Usage count = N
Ido Schimmel provided the simple test validation method [1].
The fix clears 'oldest->fnhe_daddr' before calling fnhe_flush_routes().
Since rt_bind_exception() checks this field, setting it to zero prevents
the stale fnhe from being reused and bound to a new dst just before it
is freed.
[1]
ip netns add ns1
ip -n ns1 link set dev lo up
ip -n ns1 address add 192.0.2.1/32 dev lo
ip -n ns1 link add name dummy1 up type dummy
ip -n ns1 route add 192.0.2.2/32 dev dummy1
ip -n ns1 link add name gretap1 up arp off type gretap \
local 192.0.2.1 remote 192.0.2.2
ip -n ns1 route add 198.51.0.0/16 dev gretap1
taskset -c 0 ip netns exec ns1 mausezahn gretap1 \
-A 198.51.100.1 -B 198.51.0.0/16 -t udp -p 1000 -c 0 -q &
taskset -c 2 ip netns exec ns1 mausezahn gretap1 \
-A 198.51.100.1 -B 198.51.0.0/16 -t udp -p 1000 -c 0 -q &
sleep 10
ip netns pids ns1 | xargs kill
ip netns del ns1
Metrics
Affected Vendors & Products
Advisories
No advisories yet.
Fixes
Solution
No solution given by the vendor.
Workaround
No workaround given by the vendor.
References
History
Wed, 17 Dec 2025 00:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| References |
| |
| Metrics |
threat_severity
|
cvssV3_1
|
Tue, 16 Dec 2025 14:45:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipv4: route: Prevent rt_bind_exception() from rebinding stale fnhe The sit driver's packet transmission path calls: sit_tunnel_xmit() -> update_or_create_fnhe(), which lead to fnhe_remove_oldest() being called to delete entries exceeding FNHE_RECLAIM_DEPTH+random. The race window is between fnhe_remove_oldest() selecting fnheX for deletion and the subsequent kfree_rcu(). During this time, the concurrent path's __mkroute_output() -> find_exception() can fetch the soon-to-be-deleted fnheX, and rt_bind_exception() then binds it with a new dst using a dst_hold(). When the original fnheX is freed via RCU, the dst reference remains permanently leaked. CPU 0 CPU 1 __mkroute_output() find_exception() [fnheX] update_or_create_fnhe() fnhe_remove_oldest() [fnheX] rt_bind_exception() [bind dst] RCU callback [fnheX freed, dst leak] This issue manifests as a device reference count leak and a warning in dmesg when unregistering the net device: unregister_netdevice: waiting for sitX to become free. Usage count = N Ido Schimmel provided the simple test validation method [1]. The fix clears 'oldest->fnhe_daddr' before calling fnhe_flush_routes(). Since rt_bind_exception() checks this field, setting it to zero prevents the stale fnhe from being reused and bound to a new dst just before it is freed. [1] ip netns add ns1 ip -n ns1 link set dev lo up ip -n ns1 address add 192.0.2.1/32 dev lo ip -n ns1 link add name dummy1 up type dummy ip -n ns1 route add 192.0.2.2/32 dev dummy1 ip -n ns1 link add name gretap1 up arp off type gretap \ local 192.0.2.1 remote 192.0.2.2 ip -n ns1 route add 198.51.0.0/16 dev gretap1 taskset -c 0 ip netns exec ns1 mausezahn gretap1 \ -A 198.51.100.1 -B 198.51.0.0/16 -t udp -p 1000 -c 0 -q & taskset -c 2 ip netns exec ns1 mausezahn gretap1 \ -A 198.51.100.1 -B 198.51.0.0/16 -t udp -p 1000 -c 0 -q & sleep 10 ip netns pids ns1 | xargs kill ip netns del ns1 | |
| Title | ipv4: route: Prevent rt_bind_exception() from rebinding stale fnhe | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
|
Projects
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MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2025-12-16T14:21:18.682Z
Reserved: 2025-12-16T13:41:40.263Z
Link: CVE-2025-68241
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Received
Published: 2025-12-16T15:15:53.283
Modified: 2025-12-16T15:15:53.283
Link: CVE-2025-68241
Redhat
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
Weaknesses
No weakness.