Skip to main content

Linux Kernel CVE-2025-39879

MEDIUM
NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476)
2025-09-23 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
5.5
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
Share

Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY
5.5 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
SUSE
MEDIUM
qualitative

Primary rating from NVD.

CVSS VectorNVD

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

3
Analysis Generated
Mar 28, 2026 - 19:13 vuln.today
Patch released
Mar 28, 2026 - 19:13 nvd
Patch available
CVE Published
Sep 23, 2025 - 06:15 nvd
MEDIUM 5.5

DescriptionCVE.org

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

ceph: always call ceph_shift_unused_folios_left()

The function ceph_process_folio_batch() sets folio_batch entries to NULL, which is an illegal state. Before folio_batch_release() crashes due to this API violation, the function ceph_shift_unused_folios_left() is supposed to remove those NULLs from the array.

However, since commit ce80b76dd327 ("ceph: introduce ceph_process_folio_batch() method"), this shifting doesn't happen anymore because the "for" loop got moved to ceph_process_folio_batch(), and now the i variable that remains in ceph_writepages_start() doesn't get incremented anymore, making the shifting effectively unreachable much of the time.

Later, commit 1551ec61dc55 ("ceph: introduce ceph_submit_write() method") added more preconditions for doing the shift, replacing the i check (with something that is still just as broken):

  • if ceph_process_folio_batch() fails, shifting never happens
  • if ceph_move_dirty_page_in_page_array() was never called (because

ceph_process_folio_batch() has returned early for some of various reasons), shifting never happens

  • if processed_in_fbatch is zero (because ceph_process_folio_batch()

has returned early for some of the reasons mentioned above or because ceph_move_dirty_page_in_page_array() has failed), shifting never happens

Since those two commits, any problem in ceph_process_folio_batch() could crash the kernel, e.g. this way:

BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000034 #PF: supervisor write access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0002) - not-present page PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: Oops: 0002 [#1] SMP NOPTI CPU: 172 UID: 0 PID: 2342707 Comm: kworker/u778:8 Not tainted 6.15.10-cm4all1-es #714 NONE Hardware name: Dell Inc. PowerEdge R7615/0G9DHV, BIOS 1.6.10 12/08/2023 Workqueue: writeback wb_workfn (flush-ceph-1) RIP: 0010:folios_put_refs+0x85/0x140 Code: 83 c5 01 39 e8 7e 76 48 63 c5 49 8b 5c c4 08 b8 01 00 00 00 4d 85 ed 74 05 41 8b 44 ad 00 48 8b 15 b0 > RSP: 0018:ffffb880af8db778 EFLAGS: 00010207 RAX: 0000000000000001 RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 0000000000000003 RDX: ffffe377cc3b0000 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: ffffb880af8db8c0 RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: 000000000000007d R09: 000000000102b86f R10: 0000000000000001 R11: 00000000000000ac R12: ffffb880af8db8c0 R13: 0000000000000000 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: ffff9bd262c97000 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff9c8efc303000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000000000000034 CR3: 0000000160958004 CR4: 0000000000770ef0 PKRU: 55555554 Call Trace: <TASK> ceph_writepages_start+0xeb9/0x1410

The crash can be reproduced easily by changing the ceph_check_page_before_write() return value to -E2BIG.

(Interestingly, the crash happens only if huge_zero_folio has already been allocated; without huge_zero_folio, is_huge_zero_folio(NULL) returns true and folios_put_refs() skips NULL entries instead of dereferencing them. That makes reproducing the bug somewhat unreliable. See https://lore.kernel.org/20250826231626.218675-1-max.kellermann@ionos.com for a discussion of this detail.)

My suggestion is to move the ceph_shift_unused_folios_left() to right after ceph_process_folio_batch() to ensure it always gets called to fix up the illegal folio_batch state.

AnalysisAI

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ceph: always call ceph_shift_unused_folios_left() The function ceph_process_folio_batch() sets folio_batch entries to NULL, which. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability could allow attackers to crash the application by dereferencing a null pointer.

Technical ContextAI

This vulnerability is classified as NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476), which allows attackers to crash the application by dereferencing a null pointer. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ceph: always call ceph_shift_unused_folios_left() The function ceph_process_folio_batch() sets folio_batch entries to NULL, which is an illegal state. Before folio_batch_release() crashes due to this API violation, the function ceph_shift_unused_folios_left() is supposed to remove those NULLs from the array. However, since commit ce80b76dd327 ("ceph: introduce ceph_process_folio_batch() method"), this shifting doesn't happen anymore because the "for" loop got moved to ceph_process_folio_batch(), and now the i variable that remains in ceph_writepages_start() doesn't get incremented anymore, making the shifting effectively unreachable much of the time. Later, commit 1551ec61dc55 ("ceph: introduce ceph_submit_write() method") added more preconditions for doing the shift, replacing the i check (with something that is still just as broken): - if ceph_process_folio_batch() fails, shifting never happens - if ceph_move_dirty_page_in_page_array() was never called (because ceph_process_folio_batch() has returned early for some of various reasons), shifting never happens - if processed_in_fbatch is zero (because ceph_process_folio_batch() has returned early for some of the reasons mentioned above or because ceph_move_dirty_page_in_page_array() has failed), shifting never happens Since those two commits, any problem in ceph_process_folio_batch() could crash the kernel, e.g. this way: BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000034 #PF: supervisor write access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0002) - not-present page PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: Oops: 0002 [#1] SMP NOPTI CPU: 172 UID: 0 PID: 2342707 Comm: kworker/u778:8 Not tainted 6.15.10-cm4all1-es #714 NONE Hardware name: Dell Inc. PowerEdge R7615/0G9DHV, BIOS 1.6.10 12/08/2023 Workqueue: writeback wb_workfn (flush-ceph-1) RIP: 0010:folios_put_refs+0x85/0x140 Code: 83 c5 01 39 e8 7e 76 48 63 c5 49 8b 5c c4 08 b8 01 00 00 00 4d 85 ed 74 05 41 8b 44 ad 00 48 8b 15 b0 > RSP: 0018:ffffb880af8db778 EFLAGS: 00010207 RAX: 0000000000000001 RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 0000000000000003 RDX: ffffe377cc3b0000 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: ffffb880af8db8c0 RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: 000000000000007d R09: 000000000102b86f R10: 0000000000000001 R11: 00000000000000ac R12: ffffb880af8db8c0 R13: 0000000000000000 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: ffff9bd262c97000 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff9c8efc303000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000000000000034 CR3: 0000000160958004 CR4: 0000000000770ef0 PKRU: 55555554 Call Trace: <TASK> ceph_writepages_start+0xeb9/0x1410 The crash can be reproduced easily by changing the ceph_check_page_before_write() return value to -E2BIG. (Interestingly, the crash happens only if huge_zero_folio has already been allocated; without huge_zero_folio, is_huge_zero_folio(NULL) returns true and folios_put_refs() skips NULL entries instead of dereferencing them. That makes reproducing the bug somewhat unreliable. See https://lore.kernel.org/20250826231626.218675-1-max.kellermann@ionos.com for a discussion of this detail.) My suggestion is to move the ceph_shift_unused_folios_left() to right after ceph_process_folio_batch() to ensure it always gets called to fix up the illegal folio_batch state. Affected products include: Linux Linux Kernel.

RemediationAI

A vendor patch is available. Apply the latest security update as soon as possible. Check pointers before dereferencing. Use static analysis tools to detect null pointer paths.

CVE-2022-0847 HIGH POC
7.8 Mar 10

Linux kernel contains a flaw known as 'Dirty Pipe' where improper pipe buffer flag initialization allows unprivileged lo

CVE-2015-1328 HIGH POC
7.8 Nov 28

The overlayfs implementation in the linux (aka Linux kernel) package before 3.19.0-21.21 in Ubuntu through 15.04 does no

CVE-2017-7308 HIGH POC
7.8 Mar 29

The packet_set_ring function in net/packet/af_packet.c in the Linux kernel through 4.10.6 does not properly validate cer

CVE-2017-16995 HIGH POC
7.8 Dec 27

The check_alu_op function in kernel/bpf/verifier.c in the Linux kernel through 4.4 allows local users to cause a denial

CVE-2017-1000112 HIGH POC
7.0 Oct 05

Linux kernel: Exploitable memory corruption due to UFO to non-UFO path switch. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.0). Public ex

CVE-2015-8660 MEDIUM POC
6.7 Dec 28

The ovl_setattr function in fs/overlayfs/inode.c in the Linux kernel through 4.3.3 attempts to merge distinct setattr op

CVE-2012-0056 MEDIUM POC
6.9 Jan 27

The mem_write function in the Linux kernel before 3.2.2, when ASLR is disabled, does not properly check permissions when

CVE-2014-0038 MEDIUM POC
6.9 Feb 06

The compat_sys_recvmmsg function in net/compat.c in the Linux kernel before 3.13.2, when CONFIG_X86_X32 is enabled, allo

CVE-2016-8655 HIGH POC
7.8 Dec 08

Race condition in net/packet/af_packet.c in the Linux kernel through 4.8.12 allows local users to gain privileges or cau

CVE-2016-0728 HIGH POC
7.8 Feb 08

The join_session_keyring function in security/keys/process_keys.c in the Linux kernel before 4.4.1 mishandles object ref

CVE-2017-0561 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Apr 07

A remote code execution vulnerability in the Broadcom Wi-Fi firmware could enable a remote attacker to execute arbitrary

CVE-2022-2588 MEDIUM POC
5.3 Jan 08

It was discovered that the cls_route filter implementation in the Linux kernel would not remove an old filter from the h

Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Medium
Product Status
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Fixed
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Fixed
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 Fixed
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 Fixed
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP7 Fixed

Share

CVE-2025-39879 vulnerability details – vuln.today

This site uses cookies essential for authentication and security. No tracking or analytics cookies are used. Privacy Policy