CVE-2025-37958

What it is

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/huge_memory: fix dereferencing invalid pmd migration entry When migrating a THP, concurrent access to the PMD migration entry during a deferred split scan can lead to an invalid address access, as illustrated below. To prevent this invalid access, it is necessary to check the PMD migration entry and return early. In this context, there is no need to use pmd_to_swp_entry and pfn_swap_entry_to_page to verify the equality of the target folio. Since the PMD migration entry is locked, it cannot be served as the target. Mailing list discussion and explanation from Hugh Dickins: "An anon_vma lookup points to a location which may contain the folio of interest, but might instead contain another folio: and weeding out those other folios is precisely what the "folio != pmd_folio((*pmd)" check (and the "risk of replacing the wrong folio" comment a few lines above it) is for." BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffffea60001db008 CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 2199114 Comm: tee Not tainted 6.14.0+ #4 NONE Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:split_huge_pmd_locked+0x3b5/0x2b60 Call Trace: <TASK> try_to_migrate_one+0x28c/0x3730 rmap_walk_anon+0x4f6/0x770 unmap_folio+0x196/0x1f0 split_huge_page_to_list_to_order+0x9f6/0x1560 deferred_split_scan+0xac5/0x12a0 shrinker_debugfs_scan_write+0x376/0x470 full_proxy_write+0x15c/0x220 vfs_write+0x2fc/0xcb0 ksys_write+0x146/0x250 do_syscall_64+0x6a/0x120 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e The bug is found by syzkaller on an internal kernel, then confirmed on upstream.

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited locally on the machine with a low-privilege account. High risk of service disruption.

Exploit odds

0.2% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

1. 2025-05-20 16:15 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-11-05 21:17 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

• Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
• Exploit odds: 0.2% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
• Severity: 5.5 MEDIUM (CVSS).
• Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published

2025-05-20 16:15 UTC

Last modified

2026-11-05 21:17 UTC

Exploit probability

0.2% · EPSS, next 30 days

Weakness

CWE-476 · NULL pointer dereference

Record status

Analyzed

Affected

• Linux Kernel < 5.4.295
• Linux Kernel < 5.10.239
• Linux Kernel < 5.15.186
• Linux Kernel < 6.1.142
• Linux Kernel < 6.6.95
• Linux Kernel < 6.12.29
• Linux Kernel < 6.14.7
• Linux Kernel 6.15

Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 5.5

Attack vector

Local

Complexity

Low

Privileges needed

Low

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

None

Availability

High

Is it in your code?

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