Local privilege escalation via stale qdisc class
Published May 2, 2025 · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Use-after-free in the CoDel schedulers in Linux allows local users to gain kernel privileges through crafted qdisc operations. The qlen check in fq_codel_dequeue() and codel_qdisc_dequeue() suppresses backlog reduction at zero, leaving a deleted class linked in parent scheduler structures. A local user can obtain CAP_NET_ADMIN in a user and network namespace, construct the persistent state, and reclaim the dangling object for kernel reads, writes, control-flow hijacking, or a repeatable panic.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in the CoDel schedulers in Linux allows local users to gain kernel privileges through crafted qdisc operations. The qlen check in fq_codel_dequeue() and codel_qdisc_dequeue() suppresses backlog reduction at zero, leaving a deleted class linked in parent scheduler structures. A local user can obtain CAP_NET_ADMIN in a user and network namespace, construct the persistent state, and reclaim the dangling object for kernel reads, writes, control-flow hijacking, or a repeatable panic.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-37798
- Published
- May 2, 2025
- Updated
- Aug 5, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 2, 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?
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- Affected versionversion=3.5
- Affected versionversion=76e3cc126bb223013a6b9a0e2a51238d1ef2e409 <2f9761a94bae33d26e6a81b31b36e7d776d93dc1
- Affected versionversion=76e3cc126bb223013a6b9a0e2a51238d1ef2e409 <342debc12183b51773b3345ba267e9263bdfaaef
- Affected versionversion=76e3cc126bb223013a6b9a0e2a51238d1ef2e409 <4d55144b12e742404bb3f8fee6038bafbf45619d
- Affected versionversion=76e3cc126bb223013a6b9a0e2a51238d1ef2e409 <7a742a9506849d1c1aa71e36c89855ceddc7d58e
- Affected versionversion=76e3cc126bb223013a6b9a0e2a51238d1ef2e409 <829c49b6b2ff45b043739168fd1245e4e1a91a30
- Affected versionversion=76e3cc126bb223013a6b9a0e2a51238d1ef2e409 <a57fe60ef4cf96bfbb6b58397ec28bdb5a5c6b31
- Affected versionversion=76e3cc126bb223013a6b9a0e2a51238d1ef2e409 <cc71a757da78dd4aa1b4a9b19cb011833730ccf2
- Affected versionversion=76e3cc126bb223013a6b9a0e2a51238d1ef2e409 <e73c838c80dccb9e4f19becc11d9f3cb4a27d483
- Affected versionversion=76e3cc126bb223013a6b9a0e2a51238d1ef2e409 <eda741fe155ddf5ecd2dd3bfbd4fc3c0c7dbb450
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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Technologies
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