CVE-2025-38008 (GCVE-0-2025-38008)
Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2025-06-18 09:28 – Updated: 2026-05-11 21:19
VLAI
EPSS
VEX
Title
mm/page_alloc: fix race condition in unaccepted memory handling
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
mm/page_alloc: fix race condition in unaccepted memory handling
The page allocator tracks the number of zones that have unaccepted memory
using static_branch_enc/dec() and uses that static branch in hot paths to
determine if it needs to deal with unaccepted memory.
Borislav and Thomas pointed out that the tracking is racy: operations on
static_branch are not serialized against adding/removing unaccepted pages
to/from the zone.
Sanity checks inside static_branch machinery detects it:
WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 10 at kernel/jump_label.c:276 __static_key_slow_dec_cpuslocked+0x8e/0xa0
The comment around the WARN() explains the problem:
/*
* Warn about the '-1' case though; since that means a
* decrement is concurrent with a first (0->1) increment. IOW
* people are trying to disable something that wasn't yet fully
* enabled. This suggests an ordering problem on the user side.
*/
The effect of this static_branch optimization is only visible on
microbenchmark.
Instead of adding more complexity around it, remove it altogether.
Severity
4.7 (Medium)
Assigner
References
Impacted products
2 products
| Vendor | Product | Version | CPE status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux |
Affected:
dcdfdd40fa82b6704d2841938e5c8ec3051eb0d6 , < 98fdd2f612e949c652693f6df00442c81037776d
(git)
Affected: dcdfdd40fa82b6704d2841938e5c8ec3051eb0d6 , < 74953f93f47a45296cc2a3fd04e2a3202ff3fa53 (git) Affected: dcdfdd40fa82b6704d2841938e5c8ec3051eb0d6 , < 71dda1cb10702dc2859f00eb789b0502de2176a9 (git) Affected: dcdfdd40fa82b6704d2841938e5c8ec3051eb0d6 , < fefc075182275057ce607effaa3daa9e6e3bdc73 (git) |
guessed | |
| Linux | Linux |
Affected:
6.5
Unaffected: 0 , < 6.5 (semver) Unaffected: 6.6.92 , ≤ 6.6.* (semver) Unaffected: 6.12.30 , ≤ 6.12.* (semver) Unaffected: 6.14.8 , ≤ 6.14.* (semver) Unaffected: 6.15 , ≤ * (original_commit_for_fix) |
guessed |
{
"containers": {
"cna": {
"affected": [
{
"defaultStatus": "unaffected",
"product": "Linux",
"programFiles": [
"mm/internal.h",
"mm/mm_init.c",
"mm/page_alloc.c"
],
"repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
"vendor": "Linux",
"versions": [
{
"lessThan": "98fdd2f612e949c652693f6df00442c81037776d",
"status": "affected",
"version": "dcdfdd40fa82b6704d2841938e5c8ec3051eb0d6",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"lessThan": "74953f93f47a45296cc2a3fd04e2a3202ff3fa53",
"status": "affected",
"version": "dcdfdd40fa82b6704d2841938e5c8ec3051eb0d6",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"lessThan": "71dda1cb10702dc2859f00eb789b0502de2176a9",
"status": "affected",
"version": "dcdfdd40fa82b6704d2841938e5c8ec3051eb0d6",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"lessThan": "fefc075182275057ce607effaa3daa9e6e3bdc73",
"status": "affected",
"version": "dcdfdd40fa82b6704d2841938e5c8ec3051eb0d6",
"versionType": "git"
}
]
},
{
"defaultStatus": "affected",
"product": "Linux",
"programFiles": [
"mm/internal.h",
"mm/mm_init.c",
"mm/page_alloc.c"
],
"repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
"vendor": "Linux",
"versions": [
{
"status": "affected",
"version": "6.5"
},
{
"lessThan": "6.5",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "0",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "6.6.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.6.92",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "6.12.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.12.30",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "6.14.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.14.8",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.15",
"versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"
}
]
}
],
"cpeApplicability": [
{
"nodes": [
{
"cpeMatch": [
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "6.6.92",
"versionStartIncluding": "6.5",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "6.12.30",
"versionStartIncluding": "6.5",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "6.14.8",
"versionStartIncluding": "6.5",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "6.15",
"versionStartIncluding": "6.5",
"vulnerable": true
}
],
"negate": false,
"operator": "OR"
}
]
}
],
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nmm/page_alloc: fix race condition in unaccepted memory handling\n\nThe page allocator tracks the number of zones that have unaccepted memory\nusing static_branch_enc/dec() and uses that static branch in hot paths to\ndetermine if it needs to deal with unaccepted memory.\n\nBorislav and Thomas pointed out that the tracking is racy: operations on\nstatic_branch are not serialized against adding/removing unaccepted pages\nto/from the zone.\n\nSanity checks inside static_branch machinery detects it:\n\nWARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 10 at kernel/jump_label.c:276 __static_key_slow_dec_cpuslocked+0x8e/0xa0\n\nThe comment around the WARN() explains the problem:\n\n\t/*\n\t * Warn about the \u0027-1\u0027 case though; since that means a\n\t * decrement is concurrent with a first (0-\u003e1) increment. IOW\n\t * people are trying to disable something that wasn\u0027t yet fully\n\t * enabled. This suggests an ordering problem on the user side.\n\t */\n\nThe effect of this static_branch optimization is only visible on\nmicrobenchmark.\n\nInstead of adding more complexity around it, remove it altogether."
}
],
"providerMetadata": {
"dateUpdated": "2026-05-11T21:19:31.804Z",
"orgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"shortName": "Linux"
},
"references": [
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/98fdd2f612e949c652693f6df00442c81037776d"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/74953f93f47a45296cc2a3fd04e2a3202ff3fa53"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/71dda1cb10702dc2859f00eb789b0502de2176a9"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fefc075182275057ce607effaa3daa9e6e3bdc73"
}
],
"title": "mm/page_alloc: fix race condition in unaccepted memory handling",
"x_generator": {
"engine": "bippy-1.2.0"
}
}
},
"cveMetadata": {
"assignerOrgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"assignerShortName": "Linux",
"cveId": "CVE-2025-38008",
"datePublished": "2025-06-18T09:28:19.358Z",
"dateReserved": "2025-04-16T04:51:23.977Z",
"dateUpdated": "2026-05-11T21:19:31.804Z",
"state": "PUBLISHED"
},
"dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
"dataVersion": "5.2",
"vulnerability-lookup:meta": {
"epss": {
"cve": "CVE-2025-38008",
"date": "2026-09-24",
"epss": "0.00135",
"percentile": "0.02405"
},
"nvd": {
"cve": {
"affected": [
{
"affectedData": [
{
"defaultStatus": "unaffected",
"product": "Linux",
"programFiles": [
"mm/internal.h",
"mm/mm_init.c",
"mm/page_alloc.c"
],
"repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
"vendor": "Linux",
"versions": [
{
"lessThan": "98fdd2f612e949c652693f6df00442c81037776d",
"status": "affected",
"version": "dcdfdd40fa82b6704d2841938e5c8ec3051eb0d6",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"lessThan": "74953f93f47a45296cc2a3fd04e2a3202ff3fa53",
"status": "affected",
"version": "dcdfdd40fa82b6704d2841938e5c8ec3051eb0d6",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"lessThan": "71dda1cb10702dc2859f00eb789b0502de2176a9",
"status": "affected",
"version": "dcdfdd40fa82b6704d2841938e5c8ec3051eb0d6",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"lessThan": "fefc075182275057ce607effaa3daa9e6e3bdc73",
"status": "affected",
"version": "dcdfdd40fa82b6704d2841938e5c8ec3051eb0d6",
"versionType": "git"
}
]
},
{
"defaultStatus": "affected",
"product": "Linux",
"programFiles": [
"mm/internal.h",
"mm/mm_init.c",
"mm/page_alloc.c"
],
"repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
"vendor": "Linux",
"versions": [
{
"status": "affected",
"version": "6.5"
},
{
"lessThan": "6.5",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "0",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "6.6.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.6.92",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "6.12.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.12.30",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "6.14.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.14.8",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.15",
"versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"
}
]
}
],
"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"
}
],
"configurations": [
{
"nodes": [
{
"cpeMatch": [
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"matchCriteriaId": "D0DDEC71-DA9A-4DD8-9AE4-E164CFC5E573",
"versionEndExcluding": "6.6.92",
"versionStartIncluding": "6.5",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"matchCriteriaId": "8F43EF2E-9448-4BCA-99D9-DAEAEB7523C5",
"versionEndExcluding": "6.12.30",
"versionStartIncluding": "6.7",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"matchCriteriaId": "D4458049-AD51-4F1B-BAB9-C32B53A54DE1",
"versionEndExcluding": "6.14.8",
"versionStartIncluding": "6.13",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"matchCriteriaId": "8D465631-2980-487A-8E65-40AE2B9F8ED1",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"matchCriteriaId": "4C9D071F-B28E-46EC-AC61-22B913390211",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"matchCriteriaId": "13FC0DDE-E513-465E-9E81-515702D49B74",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"matchCriteriaId": "8C7B5B0E-4EEB-48F5-B4CF-0935A7633845",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"matchCriteriaId": "2D240580-3048-49B2-9E27-F115A9DF8224",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"matchCriteriaId": "90320558-E553-4EF5-8A0B-0F5D20113BD2",
"vulnerable": true
}
],
"negate": false,
"operator": "OR"
}
]
}
],
"cveTags": [],
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nmm/page_alloc: fix race condition in unaccepted memory handling\n\nThe page allocator tracks the number of zones that have unaccepted memory\nusing static_branch_enc/dec() and uses that static branch in hot paths to\ndetermine if it needs to deal with unaccepted memory.\n\nBorislav and Thomas pointed out that the tracking is racy: operations on\nstatic_branch are not serialized against adding/removing unaccepted pages\nto/from the zone.\n\nSanity checks inside static_branch machinery detects it:\n\nWARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 10 at kernel/jump_label.c:276 __static_key_slow_dec_cpuslocked+0x8e/0xa0\n\nThe comment around the WARN() explains the problem:\n\n\t/*\n\t * Warn about the \u0027-1\u0027 case though; since that means a\n\t * decrement is concurrent with a first (0-\u003e1) increment. IOW\n\t * people are trying to disable something that wasn\u0027t yet fully\n\t * enabled. This suggests an ordering problem on the user side.\n\t */\n\nThe effect of this static_branch optimization is only visible on\nmicrobenchmark.\n\nInstead of adding more complexity around it, remove it altogether."
},
{
"lang": "es",
"value": "En el kernel de Linux, se ha resuelto la siguiente vulnerabilidad: mm/page_alloc: arregla la condici\u00f3n de ejecuci\u00f3n en el manejo de memoria no aceptada El asignador de p\u00e1ginas rastrea el n\u00famero de zonas que tienen memoria no aceptada usando static_branch_enc/dec() y usa esa rama est\u00e1tica en rutas activas para determinar si necesita lidiar con memoria no aceptada. Borislav y Thomas se\u00f1alaron que el rastreo es acelerado: las operaciones en static_branch no se serializan contra la adici\u00f3n/eliminaci\u00f3n de p\u00e1ginas no aceptadas a/desde la zona. Las comprobaciones de cordura dentro de la maquinaria static_branch lo detectan: ADVERTENCIA: CPU: 0 PID: 10 en kernel/jump_label.c:276 __static_key_slow_dec_cpuslocked+0x8e/0xa0 El comentario alrededor de WARN() explica el problema: /* * Sin embargo, advierte sobre el caso \u0027-1\u0027; ya que eso significa que un * decremento es concurrente con un primer incremento (0-\u0026gt;1). Es decir, * se est\u00e1 intentando deshabilitar algo que a\u00fan no estaba completamente habilitado. Esto sugiere un problema de ordenamiento del usuario. */ El efecto de esta optimizaci\u00f3n de static_branch solo es visible en microbenchmark. En lugar de a\u00f1adir m\u00e1s complejidad, elim\u00ednenla por completo."
}
],
"id": "CVE-2025-38008",
"lastModified": "2026-06-17T09:15:52.390",
"metrics": {
"cvssMetricV31": [
{
"cvssData": {
"attackComplexity": "HIGH",
"attackVector": "LOCAL",
"availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
"baseScore": 4.7,
"baseSeverity": "MEDIUM",
"confidentialityImpact": "NONE",
"integrityImpact": "NONE",
"privilegesRequired": "LOW",
"scope": "UNCHANGED",
"userInteraction": "NONE",
"vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H",
"version": "3.1"
},
"exploitabilityScore": 1.0,
"impactScore": 3.6,
"source": "nvd@nist.gov",
"type": "Primary"
}
]
},
"published": "2025-06-18T10:15:32.037",
"references": [
{
"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"tags": [
"Patch"
],
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/71dda1cb10702dc2859f00eb789b0502de2176a9"
},
{
"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"tags": [
"Patch"
],
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/74953f93f47a45296cc2a3fd04e2a3202ff3fa53"
},
{
"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"tags": [
"Patch"
],
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/98fdd2f612e949c652693f6df00442c81037776d"
},
{
"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"tags": [
"Patch"
],
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fefc075182275057ce607effaa3daa9e6e3bdc73"
}
],
"sourceIdentifier": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"vulnStatus": "Analyzed",
"weaknesses": [
{
"description": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "CWE-362"
}
],
"source": "nvd@nist.gov",
"type": "Primary"
}
]
}
},
"redhat_vex": {
"aggregate_severity": "Moderate",
"current_release_date": "2026-07-08T12:24:15+00:00",
"cve": "CVE-2025-38008",
"id": "CVE-2025-38008",
"initial_release_date": "2025-06-18T00:00:00+00:00",
"product_status:known_affected": "226",
"product_status:known_not_affected": "48",
"source": "Red Hat CSAF VEX",
"status": "final",
"title": "kernel: Linux kernel: Denial of Service due to race condition in unaccepted memory handling",
"url": "https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2025/cve-2025-38008.json",
"version": "3"
}
}
}
Loading…
Loading…
Experimental. This forecast is provided for visualization only and may change without notice. Do not use it for operational decisions.
Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
Loading…
Loading…
The MITRE ATT&CK techniques below are AI-generated suggestions, inferred from the description of the
vulnerability by the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-classification-roberta-base
model, served locally by ML-Gateway.
They have not been verified by an analyst and are provided for guidance only.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
Browse all ATT&CK techniques and the vulnerabilities related to each.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
Browse all ATT&CK techniques and the vulnerabilities related to each.
Loading…
Related by attack behaviour
Vulnerabilities whose description is nearest to this one in the vector space of the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-biencoder model. This is a similarity search over the bi-encoder space (plain cosine), not a classification, and it has no measured accuracy.
Loading…