CVE-2025-37996

MEDIUMCVSS 5.5/10EPSS 0.13%

Last modified

CVE-2025-37996 is a medium-severity vulnerability rated 5.5/10 on the CVSS scale. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: arm64: Fix uninitialized memcache pointer in user_mem_abort() Commit fce886a60207 ("KVM: arm64: Plumb the pKVM MMU in KVM") made the initialization of the local memcache variable in user_mem_abort() conditional, leaving a codepath where it is used uninitialized via kvm_pgtable_stage2_map(). This can fail on any path that requires a stage-2 allocation without transition via a permission fault or dirty logging. Fix this by making sure that memcache is always valid.. EPSS estimates a 0.13% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: arm64: Fix uninitialized memcache pointer in user_mem_abort() Commit fce886a60207 ("KVM: arm64: Plumb the pKVM MMU in KVM") made the initialization of the local memcache variable in user_mem_abort() conditional, leaving a codepath where it is used uninitialized via kvm_pgtable_stage2_map(). This can fail on any path that requires a stage-2 allocation without transition via a permission fault or dirty logging. Fix this by making sure that memcache is always valid.

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
0.13%

3.0th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

Affected Software

VendorProductVersionsUpdate
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 6.14, < 6.14.7
LinuxLinux Kernel6.15Rc1

References

Timeline

Published
Last Modified
Status
Analyzed

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-37996?
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: arm64: Fix uninitialized memcache pointer in user_mem_abort() Commit fce886a60207 ("KVM: arm64: Plumb the pKVM MMU in KVM") made the initialization of the local memcache variable in user_mem_abort() conditional, leaving a codepath where it is used uninitialized via kvm_pgtable_stage2_map(). This can fail on any path that requires a stage-2 allocation without transition via a permission fault or dirty logging. Fix this by making sure that memcache is always valid.
How severe is CVE-2025-37996?
CVE-2025-37996 has a CVSS score of 5.5/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.13% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2025-37996?
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-2025-37996?

Run a free Strix scan to check your systems for this vulnerability.

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Source: NVD / NIST