CVE-2025-21939

CVE-2025-21939 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel with a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-476.

Key facts

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/xe/hmm: Don't dereference struct page pointers without notifier lock The pnfs that we obtain from hmm_range_fault() point to pages that we don't have a reference on, and the guarantee that they are still in the cpu page-tables is that the notifier lock must be held and the notifier seqno is still valid. So while building the sg table and marking the pages accesses / dirty we need to hold this lock with a validated seqno. However, the lock is reclaim tainted which makes sg_alloc_table_from_pages_segment() unusable, since it internally allocates memory. Instead build the sg-table manually. For the non-iommu case this might lead to fewer coalesces, but if that's a problem it can be fixed up later in the resource cursor code. For the iommu case, the whole sg-table may still be coalesced to a single contigous device va region. This avoids marking pages that we don't own dirty and accessed, and it also avoid dereferencing struct pages that we don't own. v2: - Use assert to check whether hmm pfns are valid (Matthew Auld) - Take into account that large pages may cross range boundaries (Matthew Auld) v3: - Don't unnecessarily check for a non-freed sg-table. (Matthew Auld) - Add a missing up_read() in an error path. (Matthew Auld) (cherry picked from commit ea3e66d280ce2576664a862693d1da8fd324c317)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-21939?
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/xe/hmm: Don't dereference struct page pointers without notifier lock The pnfs that we obtain from hmm_range_fault() point to pages that we don't have a reference on, and the guarantee that they are still in the cpu page-tables is that the notifier lock must be held and the notifier seqno is still valid. So while building the sg table and marking the pages accesses / dirty we need to hold this lock with a validated seqno. However, the lock is reclaim tainted which makes sg_alloc_table_from_pages_segment() unusable, since it internally allocates memory. Instead build the sg-table manually. For the non-iommu case this might lead to fewer coalesces, but if that's a problem it can be fixed up later in the resource cursor code. For the iommu case, the whole sg-table may still be coalesced to a single contigous device va region. This avoids marking pages that we don't own dirty and accessed, and it also avoid dereferencing struct pages that we don't own. v2: - Use assert to check whether hmm pfns are valid (Matthew Auld) - Take into account that large pages may cross range boundaries (Matthew Auld) v3: - Don't unnecessarily check for a non-freed sg-table. (Matthew Auld) - Add a missing up_read() in an error path. (Matthew Auld) (cherry picked from commit ea3e66d280ce2576664a862693d1da8fd324c317)
How severe is CVE-2025-21939?
CVE-2025-21939 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2025-21939 being actively exploited?
It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (8th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2025-21939?
CVE-2025-21939 primarily affects Linux Linux Kernel. In total, 6 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2025-21939?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
Does CVE-2025-21939 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?
Yes. CVE-2025-21939 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2025-9382.
When was CVE-2025-21939 published?
CVE-2025-21939 was published on 2025-04-01 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (6)

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