CVE-2025-40009
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs/proc/task_mmu: check p->vec_buf for NULL When the PAGEMAP_SCAN ioctl is invoked with vec_len = 0 reaches pagemap_scan_backout_range(), kernel panics with null-ptr-deref: [ 44.936808] Oops: general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0xdffffc0000000000: 0000 [#1] SMP DEBUG_PAGEALLOC KASAN NOPTI [ 44.937797] KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000000-0x0000000000000007] [ 44.938391] CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 2480 Comm: reproducer Not tainted 6.17.0-rc6 #22 PREEMPT(none) [ 44.939062] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS rel-1.16.3-0-ga6ed6b701f0a-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 [ 44.939935] RIP: 0010:pagemap_scan_thp_entry.isra.0+0x741/0xa80 <snip registers, unreliable trace> [ 44.946828] Call Trace: [ 44.947030] <TASK> [ 44.949219] pagemap_scan_pmd_entry+0xec/0xfa0 [ 44.952593] walk_pmd_range.isra.0+0x302/0x910 [ 44.954069] walk_pud_range.isra.0+0x419/0x790 [ 44.954427] walk_p4d_range+0x41e/0x620 [ 44.954743] walk_pgd_range+0x31e/0x630 [ 44.955057] __walk_page_range+0x160/0x670 [ 44.956883] walk_page_range_mm+0x408/0x980 [ 44.958677] walk_page_range+0x66/0x90 [ 44.958984] do_pagemap_scan+0x28d/0x9c0 [ 44.961833] do_pagemap_cmd+0x59/0x80 [ 44.962484] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x18d/0x210 [ 44.962804] do_syscall_64+0x5b/0x290 [ 44.963111] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e vec_len = 0 in pagemap_scan_init_bounce_buffer() means no buffers are allocated and p->vec_buf remains set to NULL. This breaks an assumption made later in pagemap_scan_backout_range(), that page_region is always allocated for p->vec_buf_index. Fix it by explicitly checking p->vec_buf for NULL before dereferencing. Other sites that might run into same deref-issue are already (directly or transitively) protected by checking p->vec_buf. Note: From PAGEMAP_SCAN man page, it seems vec_len = 0 is valid when no output is requested and it's only the side effects caller is interested in, hence it passes check in pagemap_scan_get_args(). This issue was found by syzkaller.
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
6.7
and later are affected. Fixed in
6.12.50,
6.16.10,
6.17
and their respective stable series.
References
The following references provide additional information about CVE-2025-40009 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/28aa29986dde79e8466bc87569141291053833f5
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a2cb8818a3d915cd33a1e8b2babc1bb0c34862c3
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ca988dcdc6683ecd9de5f525ce469588a9141c21
Frequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2025-40009?
CVE-2025-40009 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.7 onward and has been patched in 6.12.50, 6.16.10 and 6.17. CVE-2025-40009 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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Is there a patch available for CVE-2025-40009?
Yes — CVE-2025-40009 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.12.50, 6.16.10 and 6.17. If you are running Linux kernel 6.7 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2025-40009 actively exploited?
No — CVE-2025-40009 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.