Guest memory corruption via unchecked swapped PTE clearing
Published Jan 23, 2026 · Updated Jan 23, 2026
Memory corruption in s390 KVM in Linux Kernel 6.17.4 through 6.18.3 allows local users to corrupt guest memory via page zapping. The gmap_helper_zap_one_page() helper cleared a swapped page-table entry without first checking that its PGSTE usage state was unused or zero. Reachability requires an affected s390 KVM host and the specific swapped-entry state; the published impact is guest-memory corruption, not host takeover.
Summary
What happened
Memory corruption in s390 KVM in Linux Kernel 6.17.4 through 6.18.3 allows local users to corrupt guest memory via page zapping. The gmap_helper_zap_one_page() helper cleared a swapped page-table entry without first checking that its PGSTE usage state was unused or zero. Reachability requires an affected s390 KVM host and the specific swapped-entry state; the published impact is guest-memory corruption, not host takeover.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-71155
- Published
- Jan 23, 2026
- Updated
- Jan 23, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- CWE-787
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jan 23, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jan 23, 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=5deafa27d9ae040b75d392f60b12e300b42b4792 <2af2abbcbf8573100288e8f8aea2dab8a2a0ceb7
- Affected versionversion=5deafa27d9ae040b75d392f60b12e300b42b4792 <2f393c228cc519ddf19b8c6c05bf15723241aa96
- Affected versionversion=6.18
- Affected versionversion=919efcadb63fc3d3a82c3de7194140e0b28903dc
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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Weakness, pattern, technique
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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