In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
tcp: Correct signedness in skb remaining space calculation
Syzkaller reported a bug [1] where sk->sk_forward_alloc can overflow.
When we send data, if an skb exists at the tail of the write queue, the
kernel will attempt to append the new data to that skb. However, the code
that checks for available space in the skb is flawed:
'''
copy = size_goal - skb->len
'''
The types of the variables involved are:
'''
copy: ssize_t (s64 on 64-bit systems)
size_goal: int
skb->len: unsigned int
'''
Due to C's type promotion rules, the signed size_goal is converted to an
unsigned int to match skb->len before the subtraction. The result is an
unsigned int.
When this unsigned int result is then assigned to the s64 copy variable,
it is zero-extended, preserving its non-negative value. Consequently, copy
is always >= 0.
Assume we are sending 2GB of data and size_goal has been adjusted to a
value smaller than skb->len. The subtraction will result in copy holding a
very large positive integer. In the subsequent logic, this large value is
used to update sk->sk_forward_alloc, which can easily cause it to overflow.
The syzkaller reproducer uses TCP_REPAIR to reliably create this
condition. However, this can also occur in real-world scenarios. The
tcp_bound_to_half_wnd() function can also reduce size_goal to a small
value. This would cause the subsequent tcp_wmem_schedule() to set
sk->sk_forward_alloc to a value close to INT_MAX. Further memory
allocation requests would then cause sk_forward_alloc to wrap around and
become negative.
[1]: https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=de6565462ab540f50e47
Metrics
Affected Vendors & Products
References
History
Tue, 29 Jul 2025 12:30:00 +0000
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cvssV3_1
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Sat, 26 Jul 2025 11:30:00 +0000
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Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
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Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
Fri, 25 Jul 2025 15:45:00 +0000
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Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tcp: Correct signedness in skb remaining space calculation Syzkaller reported a bug [1] where sk->sk_forward_alloc can overflow. When we send data, if an skb exists at the tail of the write queue, the kernel will attempt to append the new data to that skb. However, the code that checks for available space in the skb is flawed: ''' copy = size_goal - skb->len ''' The types of the variables involved are: ''' copy: ssize_t (s64 on 64-bit systems) size_goal: int skb->len: unsigned int ''' Due to C's type promotion rules, the signed size_goal is converted to an unsigned int to match skb->len before the subtraction. The result is an unsigned int. When this unsigned int result is then assigned to the s64 copy variable, it is zero-extended, preserving its non-negative value. Consequently, copy is always >= 0. Assume we are sending 2GB of data and size_goal has been adjusted to a value smaller than skb->len. The subtraction will result in copy holding a very large positive integer. In the subsequent logic, this large value is used to update sk->sk_forward_alloc, which can easily cause it to overflow. The syzkaller reproducer uses TCP_REPAIR to reliably create this condition. However, this can also occur in real-world scenarios. The tcp_bound_to_half_wnd() function can also reduce size_goal to a small value. This would cause the subsequent tcp_wmem_schedule() to set sk->sk_forward_alloc to a value close to INT_MAX. Further memory allocation requests would then cause sk_forward_alloc to wrap around and become negative. [1]: https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=de6565462ab540f50e47 | |
Title | tcp: Correct signedness in skb remaining space calculation | |
References |
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Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published: 2025-07-25T15:27:45.975Z
Updated: 2025-07-28T04:23:11.023Z
Reserved: 2025-04-16T04:51:24.020Z
Link: CVE-2025-38463

No data.

Status : Awaiting Analysis
Published: 2025-07-25T16:15:32.253
Modified: 2025-07-29T14:14:55.157
Link: CVE-2025-38463
