Read the docs
TI-2023-30272 Aliases CVE-2023-53989GHSA-49xq-j8p7-h965

arm64: mm: fix VA-range sanity check

Priority LOW 22Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
—
Privileges required
—
User interaction
—
Attack complexity
—
Impact type
—
Confidentiality · integrity · availability
—
Fix status
Partial Red Hat: 5 fixed, 3 without a fix

No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.

Summary

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: arm64: mm: fix VA-range sanity check Both create_mapping_noalloc() and update_mapping_prot() sanity-check their 'virt' parameter, but the check itself doesn't make much sense. The condition used today appears to be a historical accident. The sanity-check condition: if ((virt >= PAGE_END) && (virt < VMALLOC_START)) { [ ... warning here ... ] return; } ... can only be true for the KASAN shadow region or the module region, and there's no reason to exclude these specifically for creating and updateing mappings. When arm64 support was first upstreamed in commit: c1cc1552616d0f35 ("arm64: MMU initialisation") ... the condition was: if (virt < VMALLOC_START) { [ ... warning here ... ] return; } At the time, VMALLOC_START was the lowest kernel address, and this was checking whether 'virt' would be translated via TTBR1. Subsequently in commit: 14c127c957c1c607 ("arm64: mm: Flip kernel VA space") ... the condition was changed to: if ((virt >= VA_START) && (virt < VMALLOC_START)) { [ ... warning here ... ] return; } This appear to have been a thinko. The commit moved the linear map to the bottom of the kernel address space, with VMALLOC_START being at the halfway point. The old condition would warn for changes to the linear map below this, and at the time VA_START was the end of the linear map. Subsequently we cleaned up the naming of VA_START in commit: 77ad4ce69321abbe ("arm64: memory: rename VA_START to PAGE_END") ... keeping the erroneous condition as: if ((virt >= PAGE_END) && (virt < VMALLOC_START)) { [ ... warning here ... ] return; } Correct the condition to check against the start of the TTBR1 address space, which is currently PAGE_OFFSET. This simplifies the logic, and more clearly matches the "outside kernel range" message in the warning.

Why it matters now

EPSS 0.00207 10th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Linux (Linux): 5.4.251, 5.10.188, 5.15.150 +3Red Hat: 1 advisoryRed Hat: 5 fixed, 3 without a fix

SSVC decision points

Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.

Affected products

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
LinuxLinux5.4 and later5.4.251, 5.10.188, 5.15.150, 6.1.175, 6.4.7, 6.5Patch availableCNA
  • Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.4 and later Fixed in 5.4.251, 5.10.188, 5.15.150, 6.1.175, 6.4.7, 6.5 Patch available CNA

CPE names Threatist (inferred) · 1

Inferred from how NVD named this product before; not given by a source.

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*——Linux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions — — ·Linux

Remediation

  • Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.4.251, 5.10.188, 5.15.150, 6.1.175, 6.4.7, 6.5

Red Hat 1 advisory

  • RHSA-2025:6966 Released 2025-05-13 · Red Hat rating Moderate
    kernel security update
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) kernel-64k-debug-devel-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-64k-debug-devel-matched-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-64k-devel-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6 +12
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) kernel-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-64k-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-64k-core-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6 +28
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) kernel-tools-libs-devel-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, libperf-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-64k-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-64k-core-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6 +21
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6 +11

Vendor assessments

Red Hat

Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →

ProductStatusPlan or fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7AffectedNo fix yet: Fix deferred
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8AffectedNo fix yet: Fix deferred
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9AffectedNo fix yet: Fix deferred
Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9)Fixed RHSA-2025:6966
Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9)Fixed RHSA-2025:6966
Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9)Fixed RHSA-2025:6966
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 9)Fixed RHSA-2025:6966
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 9)Fixed RHSA-2025:6966
Not affected: 2 products
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2023-53989
  2. 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-49xq-j8p7-h965

References

  • TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
  • TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2021-02452 Incorrect authorization in Ubuntu linux kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
  • TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
See all 21741 →

Sources