CVE-2025-21887: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-vjwm-w9rc-f4cc
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CVSS 7.8
CWE-416
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2025-21887 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.8) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-416: Use After Free) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. at some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2025-21887 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2025-21887
GHSA Identifier GHSA-vjwm-w9rc-f4cc
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.8
CWE Classification CWE-416: Use After Free
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.8

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:H/I:H/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 High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2025-21887

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-2025-21887, 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-416: Use After Free, where the product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. at some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer. 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: ovl: fix UAF in ovl_dentry_update_reval by moving dput() in ovl_link_up The issue was caused by dput(upper) being called before ovl_dentry_update_reval(), while upper->d_flags was still accessed in ovl_dentry_remote(). Move dput(upper) after its last use to prevent use-after-free. BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in ovl_dentry_remote fs/overlayfs/util.c:162 [inline] BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in ovl_dentry_update_reval+0xd2/0xf0 fs/overlayfs/util.c:167 Call Trace: <TASK> __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:88 [inline] dump_stack_lvl+0x116/0x1f0 lib/dump_stack.c:114 print_address_description mm/kasan/report.c:377 [inline] print_report+0xc3/0x620 mm/kasan/report.c:488 kasan_report+0xd9/0x110 mm/kasan/report.c:601 ovl_dentry_remote fs/overlayfs/util.c:162 [inline] ovl_dentry_update_reval+0xd2/0xf0 fs/overlayfs/util.c:167 ovl_link_up fs/overlayfs/copy_up.c:610 [inline] ovl_copy_up_one+0x2105/0x3490 fs/overlayfs/copy_up.c:1170 ovl_copy_up_flags+0x18d/0x200 fs/overlayfs/copy_up.c:1223 ovl_rename+0x39e/0x18c0 fs/overlayfs/dir.c:1136 vfs_rename+0xf84/0x20a0 fs/namei.c:4893 ... </TASK>

References

NVD — CVE-2025-21887 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-21887
cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ss... WEB
https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-019113.html
cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ss... WEB
https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-457936.html
git.kernel.org/stable/c/3594aad97e... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3594aad97e7be2557ca9fa9c931b206b604028c8
git.kernel.org/stable/c/4b49d939b5... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4b49d939b5a79117f939b77cc67efae2694d9799
git.kernel.org/stable/c/60b4b5c127... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/60b4b5c1277fc491da9e1e7abab307bfa39c2db7
git.kernel.org/stable/c/64455c8051... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/64455c8051c3aedc71abb7ec8d47c80301f99f00
git.kernel.org/stable/c/a7c41830ff... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a7c41830ffcd17b2177a95a9b99b270302090c35
git.kernel.org/stable/c/c84e125fff... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c84e125fff2615b4d9c259e762596134eddd2f27
git.kernel.org/stable/c/f776182918... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f77618291836168eca99e89cd175256f928f5e64
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00045.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-21887?
CVE-2025-21887 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-416: Use After Free.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2025-21887?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2025-21887?
CVE-2025-21887 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2025-21887?
CVE-2025-21887 is classified under CWE-416: Use After Free (The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2025-21887?
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-vjwm-w9rc-f4cc",
  "modified" : "2026-10-15T03:34:43Z",
  "published" : "2025-03-27T15:31:12Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2025-21887" ],
  "details" : "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\novl: fix UAF in ovl_dentry_update_reval by moving dput() in ovl_link_up\n\nThe issue was caused by dput(upper) being called before\novl_dentry_update_reval(), while upper->d_flags was still\naccessed in ovl_dentry_remote().\n\nMove dput(upper) after its last use to prevent use-after-free.\n\nBUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in ovl_dentry_remote fs/overlayfs/util.c:162 [inline]\nBUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in ovl_dentry_update_reval+0xd2/0xf0 fs/overlayfs/util.c:167\n\nCall Trace:\n <TASK>\n __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:88 [inline]\n dump_stack_lvl+0x116/0x1f0 lib/dump_stack.c:114\n print_address_description mm/kasan/report.c:377 [inline]\n print_report+0xc3/0x620 mm/kasan/report.c:488\n kasan_report+0xd9/0x110 mm/kasan/report.c:601\n ovl_dentry_remote fs/overlayfs/util.c:162 [inline]\n ovl_dentry_update_reval+0xd2/0xf0 fs/overlayfs/util.c:167\n ovl_link_up fs/overlayfs/copy_up.c:610 [inline]\n ovl_copy_up_one+0x2105/0x3490 fs/overlayfs/copy_up.c:1170\n ovl_copy_up_flags+0x18d/0x200 fs/overlayfs/copy_up.c:1223\n ovl_rename+0x39e/0x18c0 fs/overlayfs/dir.c:1136\n vfs_rename+0xf84/0x20a0 fs/namei.c:4893\n...\n </TASK>",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-21887"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-019113.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-457936.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3594aad97e7be2557ca9fa9c931b206b604028c8"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4b49d939b5a79117f939b77cc67efae2694d9799"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/60b4b5c1277fc491da9e1e7abab307bfa39c2db7"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/64455c8051c3aedc71abb7ec8d47c80301f99f00"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a7c41830ffcd17b2177a95a9b99b270302090c35"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c84e125fff2615b4d9c259e762596134eddd2f27"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f77618291836168eca99e89cd175256f928f5e64"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00045.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-416" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2025-03-27T15:15:56Z"
  }
}