x86/mm: Check return value from memblock_phys_alloc_range()
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 5 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: x86/mm: Check return value from memblock_phys_alloc_range() At least with CONFIG_PHYSICAL_START=0x100000, if there is < 4 MiB of contiguous free memory available at this point, the kernel will crash and burn because memblock_phys_alloc_range() returns 0 on failure, which leads memblock_phys_free() to throw the first 4 MiB of physical memory to the wolves. At a minimum it should fail gracefully with a meaningful diagnostic, but in fact everything seems to work fine without the weird reserve allocation.
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 | 5.15 and later | 6.1.141, 6.6.93, 6.12.31, 6.14.9, 6.15 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.15 and later Fixed in 6.1.141, 6.6.93, 6.12.31, 6.14.9, 6.15 Patch available CNA
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.141, 6.6.93, 6.12.31, 6.14.9, 6.15
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 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2025-38071
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-fcf5-p95m-fc28
- 2026-11-05 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Patch 5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8c18c904d301ffeb33b071eadc55cd6131e1e9be
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bffd5f2815c5234d609725cd0dc2f4bc5de2fc67
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c6f2694c580c27dca0cf7546ee9b4bfa6b940e38
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dde4800d2b0f68b945fd81d4fc2d4a10ae25f743
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/631ca8909fd5c62b9fda9edda93924311a78a9c4
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- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2025-38071 · CVE Program
- CVE-2025-38071 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-fcf5-p95m-fc28 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2025-38071 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences