System crash via shared NUMA heap race
Published Jul 25, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026
A data race in the mm/vmalloc component of Linux kernel 6.9 allows local users to crash the system through /proc/vmallocinfo. show_numa_info() reads and writes heap state referenced by m->private while that state is shared across concurrent vmalloc_info_show() calls on multiple CPUs. Access requires root because the proc file has mode 0400, and exploitation is limited to availability loss or unpredictable kernel behavior.
Summary
What happened
A data race in the mm/vmalloc component of Linux kernel 6.9 allows local users to crash the system through /proc/vmallocinfo. show_numa_info() reads and writes heap state referenced by m->private while that state is shared across concurrent vmalloc_info_show() calls on multiple CPUs. Access requires root because the proc file has mode 0400, and exploitation is limited to availability loss or unpredictable kernel behavior.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-38383
- Published
- Jul 25, 2025
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-820, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- admin
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 25, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 11, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=6.9
- Affected versionversion=8e1d743f2c2671aa54f6f91a2b33823f92512870 <5c5f0468d172ddec2e333d738d2a1f85402cf0bc
- Affected versionversion=8e1d743f2c2671aa54f6f91a2b33823f92512870 <5c966f447a584ece3c70395898231aeb56256ee7
- Affected versionversion=8e1d743f2c2671aa54f6f91a2b33823f92512870 <ead91de35d9cd5c4f80ec51e6020f342079170af
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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