CVE-2025-38084

mm/hugetlb: unshare page tables during VMA split, not before

Published Jun 28, 2025 CVSS 3.1 · 7.8 High EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

mm/hugetlb: unshare page tables during VMA split, not before

Currently, __split_vma() triggers hugetlb page table unsharing through
vm_ops->may_split(). This happens before the VMA lock and rmap locks are
taken - which is too early, it allows racing VMA-locked page faults in our
process and racing rmap walks from other processes to cause page tables to
be shared again before we actually perform the split.

Fix it by explicitly calling into the hugetlb unshare logic from
__split_vma() in the same place where THP splitting also happens. At that
point, both the VMA and the rmap(s) are write-locked.

An annoying detail is that we can now call into the helper
hugetlb_unshare_pmds() from two different locking contexts:

1. from hugetlb_split(), holding:
- mmap lock (exclusively)
- VMA lock
- file rmap lock (exclusively)
2. hugetlb_unshare_all_pmds(), which I think is designed to be able to
call us with only the mmap lock held (in shared mode), but currently
only runs while holding mmap lock (exclusively) and VMA lock

Backporting note:
This commit fixes a racy protection that was introduced in commit
b30c14cd6102 ("hugetlb: unshare some PMDs when splitting VMAs"); that
commit claimed to fix an issue introduced in 5.13, but it should actually
also go all the way back.

[jannh@google.com: v2]

Analysis

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Remediation

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Tracking

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Advisories

Source ID Title
Debian DLA Debian DLA DLA-4327-1 linux security update
Debian DLA Debian DLA DLA-4328-1 linux-6.1 security update
Debian DSA Debian DSA DSA-5973-1 linux security update
EUVD EUVD EUVD-2025-19449 In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/hugetlb: unshare page tables during VMA split, not before Currently, __split_vma() triggers hugetlb page table unsharing through vm_ops->may_split(). This happens before the VMA lock and rmap locks are taken - which is too early, it allows racing VMA-locked page faults in our process and racing rmap walks from other processes to cause page tables to be shared again before we actually perform the split. Fix it by explicitly calling into the hugetlb unshare logic from __split_vma() in the same place where THP splitting also happens. At that point, both the VMA and the rmap(s) are write-locked. An annoying detail is that we can now call into the helper hugetlb_unshare_pmds() from two different locking contexts: 1. from hugetlb_split(), holding: - mmap lock (exclusively) - VMA lock - file rmap lock (exclusively) 2. hugetlb_unshare_all_pmds(), which I think is designed to be able to call us with only the mmap lock held (in shared mode), but currently only runs while holding mmap lock (exclusively) and VMA lock Backporting note: This commit fixes a racy protection that was introduced in commit b30c14cd6102 ("hugetlb: unshare some PMDs when splitting VMAs"); that commit claimed to fix an issue introduced in 5.13, but it should actually also go all the way back. [jannh@google.com: v2]
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7774-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7774-2 Linux kernel (FIPS) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7774-3 Linux kernel (Real-time) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7775-1 Linux kernel (Azure FIPS) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7775-2 Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7776-1 Linux kernel (Oracle) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7775-3 Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7774-4 Linux kernel (KVM) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7774-5 Linux kernel (NVIDIA Tegra IGX) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7833-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7834-1 Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7833-2 Linux kernel (Real-time) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7833-3 Linux kernel (AWS) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7833-4 Linux kernel (GCP) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7856-1 Linux kernel (HWE) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8028-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8028-2 Linux kernel (Real-time) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8031-1 Linux kernel (GCP) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8028-3 Linux kernel (Real-time) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8028-4 Linux kernel (FIPS) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8028-5 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8031-2 Linux kernel (GCP FIPS) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8028-6 Linux kernel (HWE) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8031-3 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8052-1 Linux kernel (Low Latency) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8028-7 Linux kernel (Low Latency NVIDIA) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8028-8 Linux kernel (IBM) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8052-2 Linux kernel (Xilinx) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8074-1 Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8074-2 Linux kernel (Azure FIPS) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8126-1 Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Debian
Debian debian Linux
Weaknesses NVD-CWE-noinfo
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Debian
Debian debian Linux
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.1, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H'}

cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-200
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.0, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.1, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.0, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

threat_severity

Moderate

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/hugetlb: unshare page tables during VMA split, not before Currently, __split_vma() triggers hugetlb page table unsharing through vm_ops->may_split(). This happens before the VMA lock and rmap locks are taken - which is too early, it allows racing VMA-locked page faults in our process and racing rmap walks from other processes to cause page tables to be shared again before we actually perform the split. Fix it by explicitly calling into the hugetlb unshare logic from __split_vma() in the same place where THP splitting also happens. At that point, both the VMA and the rmap(s) are write-locked. An annoying detail is that we can now call into the helper hugetlb_unshare_pmds() from two different locking contexts: 1. from hugetlb_split(), holding: - mmap lock (exclusively) - VMA lock - file rmap lock (exclusively) 2. hugetlb_unshare_all_pmds(), which I think is designed to be able to call us with only the mmap lock held (in shared mode), but currently only runs while holding mmap lock (exclusively) and VMA lock Backporting note: This commit fixes a racy protection that was introduced in commit b30c14cd6102 ("hugetlb: unshare some PMDs when splitting VMAs"); that commit claimed to fix an issue introduced in 5.13, but it should actually also go all the way back. [jannh@google.com: v2]
Title mm/hugetlb: unshare page tables during VMA split, not before
References
Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
Linux
Published
Updated
Oct 15, 2026, 9:52 PM
Reserved
Apr 16, 2025, 4:51 AM
Status
Modified
Published
Jun 28, 2025, 8:15 AM
Modified
Oct 15, 2026, 10:18 PM
Severity
Moderate
Public date
Jun 28, 2025, 12:00 AM