CVE-2025-21897 | sched_ext: Fix pick_task_scx() picking non-queued tasks when it's called without balance()

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sched_ext: Fix pick_task_scx() picking non-queued tasks when it's called without balance() a6250aa251ea ("sched_ext: Handle cases where pick_task_scx() is called without preceding balance_scx()") added a workaround to handle the cases where pick_task_scx() is called without prececing balance_scx() which is due to a fair class bug where pick_taks_fair() may return NULL after a true return from balance_fair(). The workaround detects when pick_task_scx() is called without preceding balance_scx() and emulates SCX_RQ_BAL_KEEP and triggers kicking to avoid stalling. Unfortunately, the workaround code was testing whether @prev was on SCX to decide whether to keep the task running. This is incorrect as the task may be on SCX but no longer runnable. This could lead to a non-runnable task to be returned from pick_task_scx() which cause interesting confusions and failures. e.g. A common failure mode is the task ending up with (!on_rq && on_cpu) state which can cause potential wakers to busy loop, which can easily lead to deadlocks. Fix it by testing whether @prev has SCX_TASK_QUEUED set. This makes @prev_on_scx only used in one place. Open code the usage and improve the comment while at it.

Published: 2025-04-01 Last update: 2025-10-31 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2025-21897 is rated Low Risk (30.5/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.09%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2025-21897

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-05-11 0.17% 0.09% -0.08%
2 2026-05-10 0.02% 0.17% +0.15%
3 2025-04-02 0.02%

Full EPSS history (3 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2025-21897

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2025-21897

OS Trackers for CVE-2025-21897

vendor priority summary link
debian unimportant CVE-2025-21897 unimportant priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2025-21897
redhat https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-21897
suse medium CVE-2025-21897 severity moderate: SUSE including 26 source package names (cluster-md-kmp-default, dlm-kmp-default, …), 277 product×package rows across 54 product lines (SLES-LTSS-TERADATA 15 SP2, SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7, … (54 product lines)): Known Not Affected 277. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-21897/
ubuntu medium CVE-2025-21897 medium priority: Ubuntu including 130 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1040 status rows across 8 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, oracular, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 713, ignored 146, not-affected 117, released 64. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2025-21897

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2025-21897

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 6.12.1, < 6.12.18 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.13, < 6.13.6 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.12 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.12:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.14 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.14:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.14 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.14:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.14 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.14:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.14 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.14:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2025-21897

cvelogic Threat Intelligence