🛡️ CVE-2025-21908 — kernel
Description
NFS: fix nfs_release_folio() to not deadlock via kcompactd writeback
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
NFS: fix nfs_release_folio() to not deadlock via kcompactd writeback
Add PF_KCOMPACTD flag and current_is_kcompactd() helper to check for it so
nfs_release_folio() can skip calling nfs_wb_folio() from kcompactd.
Otherwise NFS can deadlock waiting for kcompactd enduced writeback which
recurses back to NFS (which triggers writeback to NFSD via NFS loopback
mount on the same host, NFSD blocks waiting for XFS's call to
__filemap_get_folio):
6070.550357] INFO: task kcompactd0:58 blocked for more than 4435 seconds.
{---
[58] "kcompactd0"
[<0>] folio_wait_bit+0xe8/0x200
[<0>] folio_wait_writeback+0x2b/0x80
[<0>] nfs_wb_folio+0x80/0x1b0 [nfs]
[<0>] nfs_release_folio+0x68/0x130 [nfs]
[<0>] split_huge_page_to_list_to_order+0x362/0x840
[<0>] migrate_pages_batch+0x43d/0xb90
[<0>] migrate_pages_sync+0x9a/0x240
[<0>] migrate_pages+0x93c/0x9f0
[<0>] compact_zone+0x8e2/0x1030
[<0>] compact_node+0xdb/0x120
[<0>] kcompactd+0x121/0x2e0
[<0>] kthread+0xcf/0x100
[<0>] ret_from_fork+0x31/0x40
[<0>] ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30
---}
[[email protected]: fix build]
How this vulnerability can be exploited
This issue can be reached with local access to the system, attack complexity is low, an attacker needs low-level privileges on the target. No user interaction is required. The scope is unchanged, so the impact stays within the vulnerable component. Rated impact: confidentiality none, integrity none, availability high.
Affected software
CVE-2025-21908 is recorded against 2 packages.
- kernel (from 6.13.0 up to 6.13.7)
- linux-kernel
Timeline and source
Published on 1 April 2025 and last revised on 15 July 2026. No public exploit is currently recorded for this entry. A vendor advisory or fix has been published. Record sourced from NVD.
References
git.kernel.org (Web)
git.kernel.org (Web)
git.kernel.org (Web)
git.kernel.org (Web)
github.com (Advisory)
nvd.nist.gov (Advisory)
git.kernel.org (Package)
CVE-2025-21908 on other distributions
Each distribution ships its own build and its own fixed version. Pick the one you run:
Details
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Affected Packages
| Software | From version | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| kernel | 6.13.0 | 6.13.7 |
| linux-kernel | — | — |
References
Similar Threats
- Unknown ALBA-2026:39332
- Unknown ALSA-2023:1703
- Unknown ALSA-2023:1566
- Unknown ALSA-2023:1470
- Unknown ALSA-2023:0951
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