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CVE Record

CVE-2025-68250: hung_task: fix warnings caused by unaligned lock pointers

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: hung_task: fix warnings caused by unaligned lock pointers The blocker tracking mechanism assumes that lock pointers are at least 4-byte aligned to use their lower bits for type encoding. However, as reported by Eero Tamminen, some architectures like m68k only guarantee 2-byte alignment of 32-bit values. This breaks the assumption and causes two related WARN_ON_ONCE checks to trigger. To fix this, the runtime checks are adjusted to silently ignore any lock that is not 4-byte aligned, effectively disabling the feature in such cases and avoiding the related warnings. Thanks to Geert Uytterhoeven for bisecting!

HighCVSS 8.2Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

A Linux hung-task diagnostic feature can mishandle lock addresses that are not four-byte aligned, triggering kernel warnings on architectures such as m68k. The supplied record rates this high severity, mainly for availability impact, but provides no evidence of real-world exploitation.

Executive priority

Treat as a high-priority kernel maintenance issue on potentially affected architectures, especially systems requiring strong availability. Validate actual exposure before emergency action because the supplied evidence does not demonstrate exploitation and leaves affected-version boundaries unclear.

Technical view

The blocker tracker stores type information in the low bits of lock pointers and therefore assumes four-byte alignment. Some architectures guarantee only two-byte alignment. The referenced fix detects noncompliant pointers, ignores those locks, and avoids the WARN_ON_ONCE conditions, effectively disabling blocker tracking for them.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most plausible on source-listed affected Linux releases running architectures or configurations that can produce two-byte-aligned lock pointers, particularly m68k. The supplied version data is insufficiently structured to establish a reliable inclusive affected range; confirm applicability with the kernel or distribution vendor.

Exploitation context

The supplied CVSS score is 8.2, with network reachability and high availability impact asserted. However, the technical description documents warning conditions rather than a demonstrated attack path. The record is not listed in KEV, and the supplied sources do not report active exploitation or a public exploit.

Researcher notes

The core defect is an invalid pointer-alignment assumption in hung-task blocker tracking. The remediation silently excludes locks lacking four-byte alignment. Researchers should distinguish warning suppression and diagnostic loss from independently proven confidentiality or remote availability impact. The supplied CVSS vector asserts network attackability, but the description does not explain that path.

Mitigation direction

  • Apply a vendor-supported kernel update that incorporates the referenced stable-kernel fix.
  • Confirm the selected distribution package addresses CVE-2025-68250 before deployment.
  • If immediate updating is unavailable, request vendor-specific mitigation guidance; none is provided in the supplied sources.
  • Prioritize systems using m68k or other architectures without guaranteed four-byte lock-pointer alignment.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory kernel versions, distribution packages, and hardware architectures across potentially affected systems.
  • Verify the running kernel contains an applicable referenced fix or vendor backport.
  • Review kernel logs for related hung-task WARN_ON_ONCE messages before and after remediation.
  • Regression-test hung-task diagnostics and normal workloads on affected architectures after updating.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
4

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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CVE-2025-68250 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
High
CVSS
8.2 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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
0ADP providers
3Source links

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
8.2CVSS 3.1HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H3.94.2Linux

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

8.2High
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2025-68250Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinuxe711faaafbe54a884f33b53472434063d342f6d4, e711faaafbe54a884f33b53472434063d342f6d4unaffected
LinuxLinux6.16, 0, 6.17.6, 6.18affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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