Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tracing: Do not allow mmap()...
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
tracing: Do not allow mmap() of persistent ring buffer
When trying to mmap a trace instance buffer that is attached to
reserve_mem, it would crash:
BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffffe97bd00025c8
#PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode
#PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page
PGD 2862f3067 P4D 2862f3067 PUD 0
Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT_RT SMP PTI
CPU: 4 UID: 0 PID: 981 Comm: mmap-rb Not tainted 6.14.0-rc2-test-00003-g7f1a5e3fbf9e-dirty #233
Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2 04/01/2014
RIP: 0010:validate_page_before_insert+0x5/0xb0
Code: e2 01 89 d0 c3 cc cc cc cc 66 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 0f 1f 44 00 00 <48> 8b 46 08 a8 01 75 67 66 90 48 89 f0 8b 50 34 85 d2 74 76 48 89
RSP: 0018:ffffb148c2f3f968 EFLAGS: 00010246
RAX: ffff9fa5d3322000 RBX: ffff9fa5ccff9c08 RCX: 00000000b879ed29
RDX: ffffe97bd00025c0 RSI: ffffe97bd00025c0 RDI: ffff9fa5ccff9c08
RBP: ffffb148c2f3f9f0 R08: 0000000000000004 R09: 0000000000000004
R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000200 R12: 0000000000000000
R13: 00007f16a18d5000 R14: ffff9fa5c48db6a8 R15: 0000000000000000
FS: 00007f16a1b54740(0000) GS:ffff9fa73df00000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000
CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033
CR2: ffffe97bd00025c8 CR3: 00000001048c6006 CR4: 0000000000172ef0
Call Trace:
? __die_body.cold+0x19/0x1f
? __die+0x2e/0x40
? page_fault_oops+0x157/0x2b0
? search_module_extables+0x53/0x80
? validate_page_before_insert+0x5/0xb0
? kernelmode_fixup_or_oops.isra.0+0x5f/0x70
? __bad_area_nosemaphore+0x16e/0x1b0
? bad_area_nosemaphore+0x16/0x20
? do_kern_addr_fault+0x77/0x90
? exc_page_fault+0x22b/0x230
? asm_exc_page_fault+0x2b/0x30
? validate_page_before_insert+0x5/0xb0
? vm_insert_pages+0x151/0x400
__rb_map_vma+0x21f/0x3f0
ring_buffer_map+0x21b/0x2f0
tracing_buffers_mmap+0x70/0xd0
__mmap_region+0x6f0/0xbd0
mmap_region+0x7f/0x130
do_mmap+0x475/0x610
vm_mmap_pgoff+0xf2/0x1d0
ksys_mmap_pgoff+0x166/0x200
__x64_sys_mmap+0x37/0x50
x64_sys_call+0x1670/0x1d70
do_syscall_64+0xbb/0x1d0
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f
The reason was that the code that maps the ring buffer pages to user space
has:
page = virt_to_page((void *)cpu_buffer->subbuf_ids[s]);
And uses that in:
vm_insert_pages(vma, vma->vm_start, pages, &nr_pages);
But virt_to_page() does not work with vmap()'d memory which is what the
persistent ring buffer has. It is rather trivial to allow this, but for
now just disable mmap() of instances that have their ring buffer from the
reserve_mem option.
If an mmap() is performed on a persistent buffer it will return -ENODEV
just like it would if the .mmap field wasn't defined in the
file_operations structure.
Impact
CVE-2025-21778 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (Medium). The vector is requires local access, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. No fixed version is listed yet, so configuration controls and monitoring matter more in the interim.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2025-21778? CVE-2025-21778 is a medium-severity security vulnerability. No fixed version is listed yet.
- How severe is CVE-2025-21778? CVE-2025-21778 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2025-21778? No fixed version is listed for CVE-2025-21778 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.
- Is CVE-2025-21778 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-21778 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2025-21778 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.