Local privilege escalation via SPARC copy underflow
Published Nov 12, 2025 · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Memory corruption in the Linux SPARC kernel allows local users to gain elevated privileges through a faulting user-memory copy. UltraSPARC III exception handlers calculate uncopied bytes from an unmasked %o2 register, so copy_from_user() or copy_to_user() can return more bytes than requested and underflow iterator accounting. An unprivileged process can deterministically trigger the path with memory mappings and a local system call, causing kernel heap corruption, disclosure, or a panic.
Summary
What happened
Memory corruption in the Linux SPARC kernel allows local users to gain elevated privileges through a faulting user-memory copy. UltraSPARC III exception handlers calculate uncopied bytes from an unmasked %o2 register, so copy_from_user() or copy_to_user() can return more bytes than requested and underflow iterator accounting. An unprivileged process can deterministically trigger the path with memory mappings and a local system call, causing kernel heap corruption, disclosure, or a panic.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-40124
- Published
- Nov 12, 2025
- Updated
- Aug 5, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1068, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Nov 12, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 5, 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?
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- Affected versionversion=1c7e17b1c4d60cc5aa575460f7efb73686dd3b39
- Affected versionversion=4.4.34 <4.5
- Affected versionversion=4.8.10 <4.9
- Affected versionversion=4.9
- Affected versionversion=ac663c54f40b2830b1ca32d1ae9d683fe248b14c
- Affected versionversion=ee841d0aff649164080e445e84885015958d8ff4 <1198077606aeffb102587c6ea079ce99641c99d4
- Affected versionversion=ee841d0aff649164080e445e84885015958d8ff4 <1857cdca12c4aff58bf26a7005a4d02850c29927
- Affected versionversion=ee841d0aff649164080e445e84885015958d8ff4 <47b49c06eb62504075f0f2e2227aee2e2c2a58b3
- Affected versionversion=ee841d0aff649164080e445e84885015958d8ff4 <5ef9c94d7110e90260c06868cf1dcf899b9f25ee
- Affected versionversion=ee841d0aff649164080e445e84885015958d8ff4 <91eda032eb16e5d2be27c95584665bc555bb5a90
- Affected versionversion=ee841d0aff649164080e445e84885015958d8ff4 <dc766c4830a7e1e1ee9d7f77d4ab344f2eb23c8e
- Affected versionversion=ee841d0aff649164080e445e84885015958d8ff4 <e50377c6b3f278c9f3ef017ffce17f5fcc9dace4
- Affected versionversion=ee841d0aff649164080e445e84885015958d8ff4 <fdd43fe6d286f27b826572457a89c926f97e2d3a
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What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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