In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
mm: swap: check for stable address space before operating on the VMA
It is possible to hit a zero entry while traversing the vmas in unuse_mm()
called from swapoff path and accessing it causes the OOPS:
Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address
0000000000000446--> Loading the memory from offset 0x40 on the
XA_ZERO_ENTRY as address.
Mem abort info:
ESR = 0x0000000096000005
EC = 0x25: DABT (current EL), IL = 32 bits
SET = 0, FnV = 0
EA = 0, S1PTW = 0
FSC = 0x05: level 1 translation fault
The issue is manifested from the below race between the fork() on a
process and swapoff:
fork(dup_mmap()) swapoff(unuse_mm)
--------------- -----------------
1) Identical mtree is built using
__mt_dup().
2) copy_pte_range()-->
copy_nonpresent_pte():
The dst mm is added into the
mmlist to be visible to the
swapoff operation.
3) Fatal signal is sent to the parent
process(which is the current during the
fork) thus skip the duplication of the
vmas and mark the vma range with
XA_ZERO_ENTRY as a marker for this process
that helps during exit_mmap().
4) swapoff is tried on the
'mm' added to the 'mmlist' as
part of the 2.
5) unuse_mm(), that iterates
through the vma's of this 'mm'
will hit the non-NULL zero entry
and operating on this zero entry
as a vma is resulting into the
oops.
The proper fix would be around not exposing this partially-valid tree to
others when droping the mmap lock, which is being solved with [1]. A
simpler solution would be checking for MMF_UNSTABLE, as it is set if
mm_struct is not fully initialized in dup_mmap().
Thanks to Liam/Lorenzo/David for all the suggestions in fixing this
issue.
mm: swap: check for stable address space before operating on the VMA
It is possible to hit a zero entry while traversing the vmas in unuse_mm()
called from swapoff path and accessing it causes the OOPS:
Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address
0000000000000446--> Loading the memory from offset 0x40 on the
XA_ZERO_ENTRY as address.
Mem abort info:
ESR = 0x0000000096000005
EC = 0x25: DABT (current EL), IL = 32 bits
SET = 0, FnV = 0
EA = 0, S1PTW = 0
FSC = 0x05: level 1 translation fault
The issue is manifested from the below race between the fork() on a
process and swapoff:
fork(dup_mmap()) swapoff(unuse_mm)
--------------- -----------------
1) Identical mtree is built using
__mt_dup().
2) copy_pte_range()-->
copy_nonpresent_pte():
The dst mm is added into the
mmlist to be visible to the
swapoff operation.
3) Fatal signal is sent to the parent
process(which is the current during the
fork) thus skip the duplication of the
vmas and mark the vma range with
XA_ZERO_ENTRY as a marker for this process
that helps during exit_mmap().
4) swapoff is tried on the
'mm' added to the 'mmlist' as
part of the 2.
5) unuse_mm(), that iterates
through the vma's of this 'mm'
will hit the non-NULL zero entry
and operating on this zero entry
as a vma is resulting into the
oops.
The proper fix would be around not exposing this partially-valid tree to
others when droping the mmap lock, which is being solved with [1]. A
simpler solution would be checking for MMF_UNSTABLE, as it is set if
mm_struct is not fully initialized in dup_mmap().
Thanks to Liam/Lorenzo/David for all the suggestions in fixing this
issue.
Metrics
Affected Vendors & Products
No data.
No data.
No data.
No data.
Advisories
No advisories yet.
Fixes
Solution
No solution given by the vendor.
Workaround
No workaround given by the vendor.
References
History
Wed, 15 Oct 2025 08:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm: swap: check for stable address space before operating on the VMA It is possible to hit a zero entry while traversing the vmas in unuse_mm() called from swapoff path and accessing it causes the OOPS: Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000446--> Loading the memory from offset 0x40 on the XA_ZERO_ENTRY as address. Mem abort info: ESR = 0x0000000096000005 EC = 0x25: DABT (current EL), IL = 32 bits SET = 0, FnV = 0 EA = 0, S1PTW = 0 FSC = 0x05: level 1 translation fault The issue is manifested from the below race between the fork() on a process and swapoff: fork(dup_mmap()) swapoff(unuse_mm) --------------- ----------------- 1) Identical mtree is built using __mt_dup(). 2) copy_pte_range()--> copy_nonpresent_pte(): The dst mm is added into the mmlist to be visible to the swapoff operation. 3) Fatal signal is sent to the parent process(which is the current during the fork) thus skip the duplication of the vmas and mark the vma range with XA_ZERO_ENTRY as a marker for this process that helps during exit_mmap(). 4) swapoff is tried on the 'mm' added to the 'mmlist' as part of the 2. 5) unuse_mm(), that iterates through the vma's of this 'mm' will hit the non-NULL zero entry and operating on this zero entry as a vma is resulting into the oops. The proper fix would be around not exposing this partially-valid tree to others when droping the mmap lock, which is being solved with [1]. A simpler solution would be checking for MMF_UNSTABLE, as it is set if mm_struct is not fully initialized in dup_mmap(). Thanks to Liam/Lorenzo/David for all the suggestions in fixing this issue. | |
| Title | mm: swap: check for stable address space before operating on the VMA | |
| References |
|
MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2025-10-15T07:58:17.927Z
Reserved: 2025-04-16T07:20:57.150Z
Link: CVE-2025-39992
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Received
Published: 2025-10-15T08:15:37.317
Modified: 2025-10-15T08:15:37.317
Link: CVE-2025-39992
Redhat
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.