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CVE-2025-21696

MEDIUMCVSS 5.5/10EPSS 0.18%

Last modified

CVE-2025-21696 is a medium-severity vulnerability rated 5.5/10 on the CVSS scale. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm: clear uffd-wp PTE/PMD state on mremap() When mremap()ing a memory region previously registered with userfaultfd as write-protected but without UFFD_FEATURE_EVENT_REMAP, an inconsistency in flag clearing leads to a mismatch between the vma flags (which have uffd-wp cleared) and the pte/pmd flags (which do not have uffd-wp cleared). This mismatch causes a subsequent mprotect(PROT_WRITE) to trigger a warning in page_table_check_pte_flags() due to setting the pte to writable while uffd-wp is still set. Fix this by always explicitly clearing the uffd-wp pte/pmd flags on any such mremap() so that the values are consistent with the existing clearing of VM_UFFD_WP. EPSS estimates a 0.18% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm: clear uffd-wp PTE/PMD state on mremap() When mremap()ing a memory region previously registered with userfaultfd as write-protected but without UFFD_FEATURE_EVENT_REMAP, an inconsistency in flag clearing leads to a mismatch between the vma flags (which have uffd-wp cleared) and the pte/pmd flags (which do not have uffd-wp cleared). This mismatch causes a subsequent mprotect(PROT_WRITE) to trigger a warning in page_table_check_pte_flags() due to setting the pte to writable while uffd-wp is still set. Fix this by always explicitly clearing the uffd-wp pte/pmd flags on any such mremap() so that the values are consistent with the existing clearing of VM_UFFD_WP. Be careful to clear the logical flag regardless of its physical form; a PTE bit, a swap PTE bit, or a PTE marker. Cover PTE, huge PMD and hugetlb paths.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1
5.5/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS Probability
0.18%

7.6th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Affected Software

VendorProductVersionsUpdate
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 5.7, < 6.12.11—
LinuxLinux Kernel6.13Rc1

References

Timeline

Published
Last Modified
Status
Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-21696?
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm: clear uffd-wp PTE/PMD state on mremap() When mremap()ing a memory region previously registered with userfaultfd as write-protected but without UFFD_FEATURE_EVENT_REMAP, an inconsistency in flag clearing leads to a mismatch between the vma flags (which have uffd-wp cleared) and the pte/pmd flags (which do not have uffd-wp cleared). This mismatch causes a subsequent mprotect(PROT_WRITE) to trigger a warning in page_table_check_pte_flags() due to setting the pte to writable while uffd-wp is still set. Fix this by always explicitly clearing the uffd-wp pte/pmd flags on any such mremap() so that the values are consistent with the existing clearing of VM_UFFD_WP. Be careful to clear the logical flag regardless of its physical form; a PTE bit, a swap PTE bit, or a PTE marker. Cover PTE, huge PMD and hugetlb paths.
How severe is CVE-2025-21696?
CVE-2025-21696 has a CVSS score of 5.5/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.18% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2025-21696?
Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

Are you affected by CVE-2025-21696?

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Source: NVD / NIST