CVE-2025-40009
UNSCOREDDescription
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.
How to fix
Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.
CVSS v3.1 Vector
No CVSS vector data available.
Exploit Intelligence
Low risk: more likely to be exploited than 12% of all known CVEs.
References
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Start freeThis product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2025-10-21.