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CVE Record

CVE-2025-21866: powerpc/code-patching: Fix KASAN hit by not flagging text patching area as VM_ALLOC

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: powerpc/code-patching: Fix KASAN hit by not flagging text patching area as VM_ALLOC Erhard reported the following KASAN hit while booting his PowerMac G4 with a KASAN-enabled kernel 6.13-rc6: BUG: KASAN: vmalloc-out-of-bounds in copy_to_kernel_nofault+0xd8/0x1c8 Write of size 8 at addr f1000000 by task chronyd/1293 CPU: 0 UID: 123 PID: 1293 Comm: chronyd Tainted: G W 6.13.0-rc6-PMacG4 #2 Tainted: [W]=WARN Hardware name: PowerMac3,6 7455 0x80010303 PowerMac Call Trace: [c2437590] [c1631a84] dump_stack_lvl+0x70/0x8c (unreliable) [c24375b0] [c0504998] print_report+0xdc/0x504 [c2437610] [c050475c] kasan_report+0xf8/0x108 [c2437690] [c0505a3c] kasan_check_range+0x24/0x18c [c24376a0] [c03fb5e4] copy_to_kernel_nofault+0xd8/0x1c8 [c24376c0] [c004c014] patch_instructions+0x15c/0x16c [c2437710] [c00731a8] bpf_arch_text_copy+0x60/0x7c [c2437730] [c0281168] bpf_jit_binary_pack_finalize+0x50/0xac [c2437750] [c0073cf4] bpf_int_jit_compile+0xb30/0xdec [c2437880] [c0280394] bpf_prog_select_runtime+0x15c/0x478 [c24378d0] [c1263428] bpf_prepare_filter+0xbf8/0xc14 [c2437990] [c12677ec] bpf_prog_create_from_user+0x258/0x2b4 [c24379d0] [c027111c] do_seccomp+0x3dc/0x1890 [c2437ac0] [c001d8e0] system_call_exception+0x2dc/0x420 [c2437f30] [c00281ac] ret_from_syscall+0x0/0x2c --- interrupt: c00 at 0x5a1274 NIP: 005a1274 LR: 006a3b3c CTR: 005296c8 REGS: c2437f40 TRAP: 0c00 Tainted: G W (6.13.0-rc6-PMacG4) MSR: 0200f932 <VEC,EE,PR,FP,ME,IR,DR,RI> CR: 24004422 XER: 00000000 GPR00: 00000166 af8f3fa0 a7ee3540 00000001 00000000 013b6500 005a5858 0200f932 GPR08: 00000000 00001fe9 013d5fc8 005296c8 2822244c 00b2fcd8 00000000 af8f4b57 GPR16: 00000000 00000001 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000001 00000000 00000002 GPR24: 00afdbb0 00000000 00000000 00000000 006e0004 013ce060 006e7c1c 00000001 NIP [005a1274] 0x5a1274 LR [006a3b3c] 0x6a3b3c --- interrupt: c00 The buggy address belongs to the virtual mapping at [f1000000, f1002000) created by: text_area_cpu_up+0x20/0x190 The buggy address belongs to the physical page: page: refcount:1 mapcount:0 mapping:00000000 index:0x0 pfn:0x76e30 flags: 0x80000000(zone=2) raw: 80000000 00000000 00000122 00000000 00000000 00000000 ffffffff 00000001 raw: 00000000 page dumped because: kasan: bad access detected Memory state around the buggy address: f0ffff00: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 f0ffff80: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 >f1000000: f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 ^ f1000080: f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f1000100: f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 f8 ================================================================== f8 corresponds to KASAN_VMALLOC_INVALID which means the area is not initialised hence not supposed to be used yet. Powerpc text patching infrastructure allocates a virtual memory area using get_vm_area() and flags it as VM_ALLOC. But that flag is meant to be used for vmalloc() and vmalloc() allocated memory is not supposed to be used before a call to __vmalloc_node_range() which is never called for that area. That went undetected until commit e4137f08816b ("mm, kasan, kmsan: instrument copy_from/to_kernel_nofault") The area allocated by text_area_cpu_up() is not vmalloc memory, it is mapped directly on demand when needed by map_kernel_page(). There is no VM flag corresponding to such usage, so just pass no flag. That way the area will be unpoisonned and usable immediately.

MediumCVSS 5.5Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2025-21866 is a Linux kernel PowerPC code-patching flaw that can affect availability. The reported failure was a KASAN-detected out-of-bounds write during boot/runtime activity on a PowerMac G4 test kernel. Business urgency is moderate unless the organization runs affected PowerPC Linux kernels or distribution packages still missing the upstream stable fixes.

Executive priority

Treat as a targeted kernel availability issue, not an internet-facing emergency. Prioritize remediation for PowerPC Linux or Debian LTS environments, then handle remaining Linux kernel updates through normal vulnerability management windows.

Technical view

The PowerPC text patching area was allocated with VM_ALLOC even though it is not vmalloc memory. KASAN then treated the area as invalid before normal use, causing a vmalloc-out-of-bounds report in copy_to_kernel_nofault through BPF/seccomp-related code paths. The upstream fix stops flagging that area as VM_ALLOC so it is usable immediately.

Likely exposure

Exposure appears concentrated in Linux systems running affected kernel versions on PowerPC-related configurations. The provided data lists Linux as affected and includes stable kernel fixes plus a Debian LTS advisory. Typical non-PowerPC fleets may have limited practical exposure, but kernel package provenance should be verified.

Exploitation context

No cited source says this is actively exploited, and KEV is false. CVSS indicates local, low-privilege, no-user-interaction impact with high availability effect and no confidentiality or integrity impact. The source bundle does not provide public exploit details.

Researcher notes

Evidence supports a PowerPC kernel memory-management bug involving text_area_cpu_up, map_kernel_page, copy_to_kernel_nofault, BPF JIT finalization, and seccomp filter creation. The source description is a resolved upstream kernel issue; it does not establish exploitability beyond CVSS local availability impact.

Mitigation direction

  • Inventory Linux hosts for affected kernel versions, prioritizing PowerPC systems.
  • Apply vendor or distribution kernel updates containing the stable fixes.
  • For Debian LTS systems, follow the referenced Debian advisory guidance.
  • If packages are unavailable, track upstream or vendor kernel guidance before deploying.
  • Avoid assuming non-Linux or non-PowerPC products are affected.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm running kernel release and architecture on in-scope Linux assets.
  • Check distribution changelogs for CVE-2025-21866 or the referenced stable commits.
  • Verify updated kernels are installed and active after reboot.
  • Review kernel logs for KASAN or vmalloc-out-of-bounds reports where KASAN is enabled.
  • Document any PowerPC Linux systems awaiting vendor-fixed packages.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
11

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-770: Exact CWE lookup

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2025-21866 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
5.5 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
2ADP providers
10Source links

SSVC decision data

CISA-ADPCISA Coordinator
Timestamp
Version
2.0.3
Exploitation: noneAutomatable: noTechnical Impact: partial

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
5.5CVSS 3.1MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H1.83.6CISA-ADP

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

5.5Medium
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2025-21866Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

ADP provider summaries

CISA-ADPCISA ADP Vulnrichment
cvssV3_1other:ssvc
CVECVE Program Container

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinux37bc3e5fd764fb258ff4fcbb90b6d1b67fb466c1, 37bc3e5fd764fb258ff4fcbb90b6d1b67fb466c1, 37bc3e5fd764fb258ff4fcbb90b6d1b67fb466c1, 37bc3e5fd764fb258ff4fcbb90b6d1b67fb466c1, 37bc3e5fd764fb258ff4fcbb90b6d1b67fb466c1, 37bc3e5fd764fb258ff4fcbb90b6d1b67fb466c1, 37bc3e5fd764fb258ff4fcbb90b6d1b67fb466c1, 37bc3e5fd764fb258ff4fcbb90b6d1b67fb466c1unaffected
LinuxLinux4.13, 0, 5.4.291, 5.10.235, 5.15.179, 6.1.130, 6.6.80, 6.12.17, 6.13.5, 6.14affected
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-770

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-770 · source CWE mapping

Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling

Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.

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