Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2025-22018 is a Linux kernel crash vulnerability in ATM MPOA handling. A local user with access to the relevant socket path could trigger a NULL pointer dereference and crash the kernel, causing denial of service. The sources do not show data theft, privilege escalation, or confirmed active exploitation.
Executive priority
Treat as a routine but real availability risk. Prioritize multi-user Linux systems, shared hosting, and operationally critical hosts where a local crash could interrupt services. It is below urgent exploited-in-the-wild issues unless your environment depends on affected ATM/MPOA paths.
Technical view
The flaw is a CWE-476 NULL pointer dereference in MPOA_cache_impos_rcvd(). When both entry and holding_time are NULL, entry can still be passed to eg_cache_put(), where entry->use is referenced. The published CVSS is 5.5, local attack vector, low privileges required, and availability impact high.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most relevant to Linux systems running affected kernels with ATM/MPOA functionality reachable by local users. The bundle identifies Linux kernel versions and stable kernel fixes, but does not provide CPEs or distribution-wide affected package mapping beyond Debian LTS announcements.
Exploitation context
The evidence supports local, low-privilege denial of service. KEV is false, and the provided sources do not report active exploitation. The included KASAN trace shows a reproducible kernel crash path, but no source demonstrates remote exploitation or code execution.
Researcher notes
The core condition is the missing guard for simultaneous NULL entry and holding_time before cache removal logic dereferences entry. The bundle gives stable commit references and Debian LTS notices, but not full per-distribution status or proof of exploitation beyond the crash evidence.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade to a vendor kernel containing the referenced stable fixes.
- Apply relevant Debian LTS kernel updates where applicable.
- Check vendor advisories for exact fixed package versions.
- Limit local access to systems where ATM/MPOA is enabled or required.
- Retire unused ATM/MPOA functionality if supported by your platform policy.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Linux kernel versions across servers and appliances.
- Confirm whether ATM/MPOA kernel functionality is present or enabled.
- Map installed packages against vendor advisories and stable kernel fixes.
- Review kernel crash logs for MPOA, eg_cache, or vcc_sendmsg traces.
- Track remediation through normal kernel reboot verification.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-476: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2025-22018 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 5.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
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.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H1.83.6CISA-ADPVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ab92f51c7f53a08f1a686bfb80690ebb3672357dCVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1505f9b720656b17865e4166ab002960162bf679CVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d7f1e4a53a51cc6ba833afcb40439f18dab61c1fCVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0ef6e49881b6b50ac454cb9d6501d009fdceb6fcCVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9da6b6340dbcf0f60ae3ec6a7d6438337c32518aCVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/09691f367df44fe93255274d80a439f9bb3263fcCVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3c23bb2c894e9ef2727682f98c341b20f78c9013CVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/14c7aca5ba2740973de27c1bb8df77b4dcb6f775CVE reference, Linux
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bf2986fcf82a449441f9ee4335df19be19e83970CVE reference, Linux
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00045.htmlCVE reference, CVE
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00030.htmlCVE reference, CVE
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
NULL Pointer Dereference
NULL Pointer Dereference represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.