CVE-2025-21846: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-wg7v-626p-h26r
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CVSS 5.5
CWE-476
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2025-21846 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-2025-21846 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2025-21846
GHSA Identifier GHSA-wg7v-626p-h26r
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-2025-21846

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-2025-21846, 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: acct: perform last write from workqueue In [1] it was reported that the acct(2) system call can be used to trigger NULL deref in cases where it is set to write to a file that triggers an internal lookup. This can e.g., happen when pointing acc(2) to /sys/power/resume. At the point the where the write to this file happens the calling task has already exited and called exit_fs(). A lookup will thus trigger a NULL-deref when accessing current->fs. Reorganize the code so that the the final write happens from the workqueue but with the caller's credentials. This preserves the (strange) permission model and has almost no regression risk. This api should stop to exist though.

References

NVD — CVE-2025-21846 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-21846
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-265688.html
cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ss... WEB
https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-457936.html
cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ss... WEB
https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-784472.html
git.kernel.org/stable/c/56d5f3eba3... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/56d5f3eba3f5de0efdd556de4ef381e109b973a9
git.kernel.org/stable/c/5a59ced8ff... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5a59ced8ffc71973d42c82484a719c8f6ac8f7f7
git.kernel.org/stable/c/5c928e14a2... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5c928e14a2ccd99462f2351ead627b58075bb736
git.kernel.org/stable/c/5d5b936cfa... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5d5b936cfa4b0d5670ca7420ef165a074bc008eb
git.kernel.org/stable/c/5ee8da9bea... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5ee8da9bea70dda492d61f075658939af33d8410
git.kernel.org/stable/c/8acbf4a88c... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8acbf4a88c6a98c8ed00afd1a7d1abcca9b4735e
git.kernel.org/stable/c/a8136afca0... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a8136afca090412a36429cb6c2543c714d9c0f84
git.kernel.org/stable/c/b03782ae70... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b03782ae707cc45e65242c7cddd8e28f1c22cde5
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00030.html
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00045.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-21846?
CVE-2025-21846 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-2025-21846?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2025-21846?
CVE-2025-21846 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-2025-21846?
CVE-2025-21846 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-2025-21846?
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-wg7v-626p-h26r",
  "modified" : "2026-10-15T03:34:41Z",
  "published" : "2025-03-12T12:30:58Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2025-21846" ],
  "details" : "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nacct: perform last write from workqueue\n\nIn [1] it was reported that the acct(2) system call can be used to\ntrigger NULL deref in cases where it is set to write to a file that\ntriggers an internal lookup. This can e.g., happen when pointing acc(2)\nto /sys/power/resume. At the point the where the write to this file\nhappens the calling task has already exited and called exit_fs(). A\nlookup will thus trigger a NULL-deref when accessing current->fs.\n\nReorganize the code so that the the final write happens from the\nworkqueue but with the caller's credentials. This preserves the\n(strange) permission model and has almost no regression risk.\n\nThis api should stop to exist though.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
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  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-019113.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-265688.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-457936.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-784472.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/56d5f3eba3f5de0efdd556de4ef381e109b973a9"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5a59ced8ffc71973d42c82484a719c8f6ac8f7f7"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5c928e14a2ccd99462f2351ead627b58075bb736"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5d5b936cfa4b0d5670ca7420ef165a074bc008eb"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5ee8da9bea70dda492d61f075658939af33d8410"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8acbf4a88c6a98c8ed00afd1a7d1abcca9b4735e"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a8136afca090412a36429cb6c2543c714d9c0f84"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b03782ae707cc45e65242c7cddd8e28f1c22cde5"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00030.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00045.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-476" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2025-03-12T10:15:16Z"
  }
}