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CVE Record

CVE-2025-39992: mm: swap: check for stable address space before operating on the VMA

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.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2025-39992 is a Linux kernel memory-management bug that can crash the kernel when swap is being disabled during a specific fork-related race. The public record does not provide CVSS, CWE, or active exploitation evidence.

Executive priority

Treat as a patch-management item for Linux infrastructure, with higher priority on critical hosts using swap operations. There is no source-backed evidence of active exploitation, but a kernel crash can affect service availability.

Technical view

In the swapoff path, unuse_mm() can traverse a partially initialized VMA tree exposed during dup_mmap(). A zero entry may be treated as a VMA, causing a NULL pointer dereference and kernel OOPS. The described fix checks MMF_UNSTABLE before operating on the address space.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most relevant to Linux systems running affected kernel versions or downstream kernels without the referenced stable fixes, especially where swapoff can occur during normal operations or maintenance.

Exploitation context

The source describes a race involving fork(), fatal signal handling, and swapoff. It does not claim public exploitation, KEV listing, remote reachability, privilege requirements, or weaponized exploit availability.

Researcher notes

The record is technically specific but incomplete for risk scoring. It identifies the race and fix direction, but lacks CVSS, CWE, privilege requirements, and distro-specific affected ranges. Validate against kernel trees and vendor backports.

Mitigation direction

  • Apply vendor kernel updates that include the referenced stable commits.
  • Prioritize systems where swapoff is used operationally or during maintenance.
  • Check distribution advisories for backported fixes and affected package versions.
  • Avoid relying only on upstream version numbers for vendor kernels.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux kernel versions across servers, containers hosts, and appliances.
  • Map vendor kernel builds to the referenced stable commits or advisories.
  • Review logs for kernel OOPS events during swapoff or memory-management operations.
  • Confirm post-update kernels include the vendor’s CVE-2025-39992 fix.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
6

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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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
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.

0CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
0ADP providers
5Source links

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.

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinuxd2406291483775ecddaee929231a39c70c08fda2, d2406291483775ecddaee929231a39c70c08fda2, d2406291483775ecddaee929231a39c70c08fda2, d2406291483775ecddaee929231a39c70c08fda2unaffected
LinuxLinux6.8, 0, 6.12.51, 6.16.11, 6.17.1, 6.18affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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