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UK Cyber Defence
VulnerabilityAnalyzed

CVE-2025-37818

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: LoongArch: Return NULL from huge_pte_offset() for invalid PMD LoongArch's huge_pte_offset() currently returns a pointer to a PMD slot even if the underlying entry points to…

MEDIUM 5.5EPSS 0.18%

Does this matter?

Lower severity and a low EPSS score (0.18%). Track it; it rarely justifies an emergency change on its own.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: LoongArch: Return NULL from huge_pte_offset() for invalid PMD LoongArch's huge_pte_offset() currently returns a pointer to a PMD slot even if the underlying entry points to invalid_pte_table (indicating no mapping). Callers like smaps_hugetlb_range() fetch this invalid entry value (the address of invalid_pte_table) via this pointer. The generic is_swap_pte() check then incorrectly identifies this address as a swap entry on LoongArch, because it satisfies the "!pte_present() && !pte_none()" conditions. This misinterpretation, combined with a coincidental match by is_migration_entry() on the address bits, leads to kernel crashes in pfn_swap_entry_to_page(). Fix this at the architecture level by modifying huge_pte_offset() to check the PMD entry's content using pmd_none() before returning. If the entry is invalid (i.e., it points to invalid_pte_table), return NULL instead of the pointer to the slot.

CVSS 3.1
5.5 MEDIUMCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS
0.18% probability · 8th percentile
CISA KEV
Not listed
Weakness
CWE-476
Affected
linux/linux kernel · debian/debian linux
Source
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA. Refreshed daily.