CVE-2025-21658: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-phh3-rpf3-3q9p
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CVSS 5.5
CWE-476
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2025-21658 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.5) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is null.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2025-21658 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2025-21658
GHSA Identifier GHSA-phh3-rpf3-3q9p
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.5
CWE Classification CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2025-21658

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Software dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2025-21658, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Software in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference, where the product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is null. In Software, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: avoid NULL pointer dereference if no valid extent tree [BUG] Syzbot reported a crash with the following call trace: BTRFS info (device loop0): scrub: started on devid 1 BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000208 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 106e70067 P4D 106e70067 PUD 107143067 PMD 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP NOPTI CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 689 Comm: repro Kdump: loaded Tainted: G O 6.13.0-rc4-custom+ #206 Tainted: [O]=OOT_MODULE Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS unknown 02/02/2022 RIP: 0010:find_first_extent_item+0x26/0x1f0 [btrfs] Call Trace: <TASK> scrub_find_fill_first_stripe+0x13d/0x3b0 [btrfs] scrub_simple_mirror+0x175/0x260 [btrfs] scrub_stripe+0x5d4/0x6c0 [btrfs] scrub_chunk+0xbb/0x170 [btrfs] scrub_enumerate_chunks+0x2f4/0x5f0 [btrfs] btrfs_scrub_dev+0x240/0x600 [btrfs] btrfs_ioctl+0x1dc8/0x2fa0 [btrfs] ? do_sys_openat2+0xa5/0xf0 __x64_sys_ioctl+0x97/0xc0 do_syscall_64+0x4f/0x120 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e </TASK> [CAUSE] The reproducer is using a corrupted image where extent tree root is corrupted, thus forcing to use "rescue=all,ro" mount option to mount the image. Then it triggered a scrub, but since scrub relies on extent tree to find where the data/metadata extents are, scrub_find_fill_first_stripe() relies on an non-empty extent root. But unfortunately scrub_find_fill_first_stripe() doesn't really expect an NULL pointer for extent root, it use extent_root to grab fs_info and triggered a NULL pointer dereference. [FIX] Add an extra check for a valid extent root at the beginning of scrub_find_fill_first_stripe(). The new error path is introduced by 42437a6386ff ("btrfs: introduce mount option rescue=ignorebadroots"), but that's pretty old, and later commit b979547513ff ("btrfs: scrub: introduce helper to find and fill sector info for a scrub_stripe") changed how we do scrub. So for kernels older than 6.6, the fix will need manual backport.

References

NVD — CVE-2025-21658 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-21658
git.kernel.org/stable/c/24b85a8b03... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/24b85a8b0310e0144da9ab30be42e87e6476638a
git.kernel.org/stable/c/6aecd91a5c... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6aecd91a5c5b68939cf4169e32bc49f3cd2dd329
git.kernel.org/stable/c/aee5f69f3e... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/aee5f69f3e6cd82bfefaca1b70b40b6cd8f3f784

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-21658?
CVE-2025-21658 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2025-21658?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2025-21658?
CVE-2025-21658 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2025-21658?
CVE-2025-21658 is classified under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference (The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2025-21658?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-phh3-rpf3-3q9p",
  "modified" : "2025-01-23T00:33:59Z",
  "published" : "2025-01-21T15:31:03Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2025-21658" ],
  "details" : "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nbtrfs: avoid NULL pointer dereference if no valid extent tree\n\n[BUG]\nSyzbot reported a crash with the following call trace:\n\n  BTRFS info (device loop0): scrub: started on devid 1\n  BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000208\n  #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode\n  #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page\n  PGD 106e70067 P4D 106e70067 PUD 107143067 PMD 0\n  Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP NOPTI\n  CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 689 Comm: repro Kdump: loaded Tainted: G           O       6.13.0-rc4-custom+ #206\n  Tainted: [O]=OOT_MODULE\n  Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS unknown 02/02/2022\n  RIP: 0010:find_first_extent_item+0x26/0x1f0 [btrfs]\n  Call Trace:\n   <TASK>\n   scrub_find_fill_first_stripe+0x13d/0x3b0 [btrfs]\n   scrub_simple_mirror+0x175/0x260 [btrfs]\n   scrub_stripe+0x5d4/0x6c0 [btrfs]\n   scrub_chunk+0xbb/0x170 [btrfs]\n   scrub_enumerate_chunks+0x2f4/0x5f0 [btrfs]\n   btrfs_scrub_dev+0x240/0x600 [btrfs]\n   btrfs_ioctl+0x1dc8/0x2fa0 [btrfs]\n   ? do_sys_openat2+0xa5/0xf0\n   __x64_sys_ioctl+0x97/0xc0\n   do_syscall_64+0x4f/0x120\n   entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e\n   </TASK>\n\n[CAUSE]\nThe reproducer is using a corrupted image where extent tree root is\ncorrupted, thus forcing to use \"rescue=all,ro\" mount option to mount the\nimage.\n\nThen it triggered a scrub, but since scrub relies on extent tree to find\nwhere the data/metadata extents are, scrub_find_fill_first_stripe()\nrelies on an non-empty extent root.\n\nBut unfortunately scrub_find_fill_first_stripe() doesn't really expect\nan NULL pointer for extent root, it use extent_root to grab fs_info and\ntriggered a NULL pointer dereference.\n\n[FIX]\nAdd an extra check for a valid extent root at the beginning of\nscrub_find_fill_first_stripe().\n\nThe new error path is introduced by 42437a6386ff (\"btrfs: introduce\nmount option rescue=ignorebadroots\"), but that's pretty old, and later\ncommit b979547513ff (\"btrfs: scrub: introduce helper to find and fill\nsector info for a scrub_stripe\") changed how we do scrub.\n\nSo for kernels older than 6.6, the fix will need manual backport.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-21658"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/24b85a8b0310e0144da9ab30be42e87e6476638a"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6aecd91a5c5b68939cf4169e32bc49f3cd2dd329"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/aee5f69f3e6cd82bfefaca1b70b40b6cd8f3f784"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-476" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2025-01-21T13:15:09Z"
  }
}