KVM: arm64: Unconditionally save+flush host FPSIMD/SVE/SME state
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- Low · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 5 fixed, 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: arm64: Unconditionally save+flush host FPSIMD/SVE/SME state There are several problems with the way hyp code lazily saves the host's FPSIMD/SVE state, including: * Host SVE being discarded unexpectedly due to inconsistent configuration of TIF_SVE and CPACR_ELx.ZEN. This has been seen to result in QEMU crashes where SVE is used by memmove(), as reported by Eric Auger: https://issues.redhat.com/browse/RHEL-68997 * Host SVE state is discarded *after* modification by ptrace, which was an unintentional ptrace ABI change introduced with lazy discarding of SVE state. * The host FPMR value can be discarded when running a non-protected VM, where FPMR support is not exposed to a VM, and that VM uses FPSIMD/SVE. In these cases the hyp code does not save the host's FPMR before unbinding the host's FPSIMD/SVE/SME state, leaving a stale value in memory. Avoid these by eagerly saving and "flushing" the host's FPSIMD/SVE/SME state when loading a vCPU such that KVM does not need to save any of the host's FPSIMD/SVE/SME state. For clarity, fpsimd_kvm_prepare() is removed and the necessary call to fpsimd_save_and_flush_cpu_state() is placed in kvm_arch_vcpu_load_fp(). As 'fpsimd_state' and 'fpmr_ptr' should not be used, they are set to NULL; all uses of these will be removed in subsequent patches. Historical problems go back at least as far as v5.17, e.g. erroneous assumptions about TIF_SVE being clear in commit: 8383741ab2e773a9 ("KVM: arm64: Get rid of host SVE tracking/saving") ... and so this eager save+flush probably needs to be backported to ALL stable trees.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.2 and later | 6.6.85, 6.12.21, 6.13.9, 6.14 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.2 and later Fixed in 6.6.85, 6.12.21, 6.13.9, 6.14 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 3
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.2 to before 6.6.85; 6.7 to before 6.12.21; 6.13 to before 6.13.9 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.14:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.14 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.14:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.14 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.2 to before 6.6.85; 6.7 to before 6.12.21; 6.13 to before 6.13.9 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.14:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.14 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.14:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.14 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.6.85, 6.12.21, 6.13.9, 6.14
Red Hat 1 advisory
- RHSA-2025:3510 Released 2025-04-02 · Red Hat rating Moderatekernel security update
- Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.9.4) kernel-tools-libs-devel-5.14.0-427.62.1.el9_4, libperf-5.14.0-427.62.1.el9_4
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v.9.4) kernel-64k-debug-devel-5.14.0-427.62.1.el9_4, kernel-64k-debug-devel-matched-5.14.0-427.62.1.el9_4, kernel-64k-devel-5.14.0-427.62.1.el9_4 +11
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.9.4) bpftool-7.3.0-427.62.1.el9_4, kernel-5.14.0-427.62.1.el9_4, kernel-64k-5.14.0-427.62.1.el9_4 +29
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time EUS (v.9.4) kernel-rt-5.14.0-427.62.1.el9_4, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-427.62.1.el9_4, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-427.62.1.el9_4 +9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV EUS (v.9.4) kernel-rt-5.14.0-427.62.1.el9_4, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-427.62.1.el9_4, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-427.62.1.el9_4 +11
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.9.4) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:3510 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v.9.4) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:3510 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.9.4) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:3510 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time EUS (v.9.4) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:3510 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV EUS (v.9.4) | Fixed | RHSA-2025:3510 |
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2025-22013
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-7jf9-69m7-87p6
- 2026-10-16 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Patch 6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5289ac43b69c61a49c75720921f2008005a31c43
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/04c50cc23a492c4d43fdaefc7c1ecc0ff6f7b82e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/806d5c1e1d2e5502175a24bf70f251648d99c36a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/79e140bba70bcacc5fe15bf8c0b958793fd7d56f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/900b444be493b7f404898c785d6605b177a093d0
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fbc7e61195e23f744814e78524b73b59faa54ab4
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- 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
- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2025-22013 · CVE Program
- CVE-2025-22013 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-7jf9-69m7-87p6 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2025-22013 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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