CVE-2025-38071
What it is
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: x86/mm: Check return value from memblock_phys_alloc_range() At least with CONFIG_PHYSICAL_START=0x100000, if there is < 4 MiB of contiguous free memory available at this point, the kernel will crash and burn because memblock_phys_alloc_range() returns 0 on failure, which leads memblock_phys_free() to throw the first 4 MiB of physical memory to the wolves. At a minimum it should fail gracefully with a meaningful diagnostic, but in fact everything seems to work fine without the weird reserve allocation.
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
- PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
- 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
- Last modified
- Exploit probability
- 0.2% · EPSS, next 30 days
- Record status
- Modified
Affected
- Linux Kernel < 6.1.141
- Linux Kernel < 6.6.93
- Linux Kernel < 6.12.31
- Linux Kernel < 6.14.9
- Debian Linux 11.0
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
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Is it in your code?
Hand this to your coding agent. It searches your project for the affected products and checks versions. Nothing leaves your machine.
Read https://cve-list.com/agent/cve/CVE-2025-38071.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2025-38071. Read only. Don't change anything and don't upload my code. Tell me yes, no or not sure, with the file as proof.
Fix and advisories
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/631ca8909fd5c62b9fda9edda93924311a78a9c4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8c18c904d301ffeb33b071eadc55cd6131e1e9be
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bffd5f2815c5234d609725cd0dc2f4bc5de2fc67
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c6f2694c580c27dca0cf7546ee9b4bfa6b940e38
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dde4800d2b0f68b945fd81d4fc2d4a10ae25f743
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/631ca8909fd5c62b9fda9edda93924311a78a9c4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8c18c904d301ffeb33b071eadc55cd6131e1e9be
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bffd5f2815c5234d609725cd0dc2f4bc5de2fc67
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c6f2694c580c27dca0cf7546ee9b4bfa6b940e38
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dde4800d2b0f68b945fd81d4fc2d4a10ae25f743
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00008.html
- https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-082556.html