In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
timers/migration: Fix off-by-one root mis-connection
Before attaching a new root to the old root, the children counter of the
new root is checked to verify that only the upcoming CPU's top group have
been connected to it. However since the recently added commit b729cc1ec21a
("timers/migration: Fix another race between hotplug and idle entry/exit")
this check is not valid anymore because the old root is pre-accounted
as a child to the new root. Therefore after connecting the upcoming
CPU's top group to the new root, the children count to be expected must
be 2 and not 1 anymore.
This omission results in the old root to not be connected to the new
root. Then eventually the system may run with more than one top level,
which defeats the purpose of a single idle migrator.
Also the old root is pre-accounted but not connected upon the new root
creation. But it can be connected to the new root later on. Therefore
the old root may be accounted twice to the new root. The propagation of
such overcommit can end up creating a double final top-level root with a
groupmask incorrectly initialized. Although harmless given that the final
top level roots will never have a parent to walk up to, this oddity
opportunistically reported the core issue:
WARNING: CPU: 8 PID: 0 at kernel/time/timer_migration.c:543 tmigr_requires_handle_remote
CPU: 8 UID: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/8
RIP: 0010:tmigr_requires_handle_remote
Call Trace:
<IRQ>
? tmigr_requires_handle_remote
? hrtimer_run_queues
update_process_times
tick_periodic
tick_handle_periodic
__sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt
sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt
</IRQ>
Fix the problem by taking the old root into account in the children count
of the new root so the connection is not omitted.
Also warn when more than one top level group exists to better detect
similar issues in the future.
Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2025-21813 is a Linux kernel timer migration bug that can leave timer migration roots connected incorrectly. The public record describes incorrect internal accounting and kernel warnings, not a remote attack path or data exposure. Treat it mainly as a kernel stability and operational correctness issue unless vendor guidance states otherwise.
Executive priority
Do not treat this as an emergency from the supplied evidence. Put it into the Linux kernel patch cycle, with faster handling for high-availability or latency-sensitive systems where timer behavior and kernel warnings matter operationally.
Technical view
The bug is an off-by-one children-count check in timer migration root attachment after a prior hotplug/idle race fix. The old root may not be connected to the new root, allowing multiple top-level timer migration groups, and may also be double-accounted. The fix accounts for the old root and adds warning coverage.
Likely exposure
Exposure appears limited to Linux kernels in the affected version set reported by the CVE data, including 6.12.14, 6.13, 6.13.3, and 6.14. Distribution kernels may include backports, so version strings alone are insufficient without vendor confirmation.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not report active exploitation, public exploit code, KEV listing, remote reachability, or privilege escalation. The described symptom is a kernel warning involving timer migration logic during interrupt/timer handling. Exploitability and business impact are not quantified in the source bundle.
Researcher notes
The source data is incomplete for scoring: no CVSS, CWE, exploit status, or precise distro package impact is provided. The affected-version fields appear commit-like and version-like, so validate against upstream stable commits and downstream vendor backports before declaring exposure.
Mitigation direction
Update to a vendor kernel build containing the referenced stable fixes.
Check Linux distribution advisories for backported fixed kernel packages.
Reboot systems after kernel update so the fixed kernel is active.
Prioritize systems running affected 6.12, 6.13, or 6.14 kernels.
Monitor vendor guidance for clarified severity or operational mitigations.
Validation and detection
Inventory running kernel versions across Linux hosts.
Confirm the booted kernel includes the stable fix or vendor backport.
Review kernel logs for timer_migration.c warnings matching the CVE description.
Verify package metadata against distribution security advisories.
Track exceptions where patching is deferred and document owner acceptance.
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Potential ATT&CK relevance
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
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ATT&CK lookup starting points
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cve · low confidence lookup
CVE-2025-21813 mapping review
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These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
0CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
0ADP providers
4Source links
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
Feb 27, 2025, 20:04 UTC (UTC+00:00)
CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.