Service interruption via leaked PTP clock resources
Published Apr 1, 2025 · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Incomplete cleanup in the hns3 PTP driver in Linux 5.14 allows local users to interrupt service when PTP initialization fails. The PTP initialization error path returns when hclge_ptp_get_cycle fails without unregistering and freeing the already-created PTP clock. Reachability requires local access and an hns3 device whose PTP initialization reaches this error path; the bounded consequence is unreleased kernel resources and service interruption.
Summary
What happened
Incomplete cleanup in the hns3 PTP driver in Linux 5.14 allows local users to interrupt service when PTP initialization fails. The PTP initialization error path returns when hclge_ptp_get_cycle fails without unregistering and freeing the already-created PTP clock. Reachability requires local access and an hns3 device whose PTP initialization reaches this error path; the bounded consequence is unreleased kernel resources and service interruption.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-21924
- Published
- Apr 1, 2025
- Updated
- Aug 5, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-459, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Apr 1, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 5, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=5.14
- Affected versionversion=8373cd38a8888549ace7c7617163a2e826970a92 <21dba813d9821687a7f9aff576798ba21a859a32
- Affected versionversion=8373cd38a8888549ace7c7617163a2e826970a92 <2c04e507f3a5c5dc6e2b9ab37d8cdedee1ef1a37
- Affected versionversion=8373cd38a8888549ace7c7617163a2e826970a92 <33244e98aa9503585e585335fe2ceb4492630949
- Affected versionversion=8373cd38a8888549ace7c7617163a2e826970a92 <9cfc43c0e6e6a31122b4008d763a2960c206aa2d
- Affected versionversion=8373cd38a8888549ace7c7617163a2e826970a92 <b7365eab39831487a84e63a9638209b68dc54008
- Affected versionversion=8373cd38a8888549ace7c7617163a2e826970a92 <b7d8d4529984e2d4a72a6d552fb886233e8e83cb
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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