Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-23141

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.1.135 / 6.6.88 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: x86: Acquire SRCU in KVM_GET_MP_STATE to protect guest memory accesses Acquire a lock on kvm->srcu when userspace is getting MP state to handle a rather extreme edge case where "accepting" APIC events, i.e. processing pending INIT or SIPI, can trigger accesses to guest memory. If the vCPU is in L2 with INIT *and* a TRIPLE_FAULT request pending, then getting MP state will trigger a nested VM-Exit by way of ->check_nested_events(), and emuating the nested VM-Exit can access guest memory. The splat was originally hit by syzkaller on a Google-internal kernel, and reproduced on an upstream kernel by hacking the triple_fault_event_test selftest to stuff a pending INIT, store an MSR on VM-Exit (to generate a memory access on VMX), and do vcpu_mp_state_get() to trigger the scenario. ============================= WARNING: suspicious RCU usage 6.14.0-rc3-b112d356288b-vmx/pi_lockdep_false_pos-lock #3 Not tainted ----------------------------- include/linux/kvm_host.h:1058 suspicious rcu_dereference_check() usage! other info that might help us debug this: rcu_scheduler_active = 2, debug_locks = 1 1 lock held by triple_fault_ev/1256: #0: ffff88810df5a330 (&vcpu->mutex){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: kvm_vcpu_ioctl+0x8b/0x9a0 [kvm] stack backtrace: CPU: 11 UID: 1000 PID: 1256 Comm: triple_fault_ev Not tainted 6.14.0-rc3-b112d356288b-vmx #3 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 0.0.0 02/06/2015 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x7f/0x90 lockdep_rcu_suspicious+0x144/0x190 kvm_vcpu_gfn_to_memslot+0x156/0x180 [kvm] kvm_vcpu_read_guest+0x3e/0x90 [kvm] read_and_check_msr_entry+0x2e/0x180 [kvm_intel] __nested_vmx_vmexit+0x550/0xde0 [kvm_intel] kvm_check_nested_events+0x1b/0x30 [kvm] kvm_apic_accept_events+0x33/0x100 [kvm] kvm_arch_vcpu_ioctl_get_mpstate+0x30/0x1d0 [kvm] kvm_vcpu_ioctl+0x33e/0x9a0 [kvm] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x8b/0xb0 do_syscall_64+0x6c/0x170 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 </TASK>

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:< 6.1.135>= 6.2, < 6.6.88>= 6.7, < 6.12.24>= 6.13, < 6.13.12>= 6.14, < 6.14.3= 6.15
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 11.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.1.135 / 6.6.88 / 6.12.24 or later
Fixed in 6.1.1356.6.886.12.24
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux kernel 6.12.24 (or 6.13.12 for >=6.13 branches; 6.6.88 for >=6.2,<6.7 branches; 6.1.135 for <6.2 branches)

  1. 1. Identify the current running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. 2. For systems running kernel < 6.1.135: Plan upgrade to kernel 6.1.135 or later (e.g., 6.1.x stable
  3. 3. For systems running kernel >= 6.2 and < 6.6.88: Plan upgrade to kernel 6.6.88 or later (e.g., 6.6.x stable)
  4. 4. For systems running kernel >= 6.7 and < 6.12.24: Plan upgrade to kernel 6.12.24 or later (e.g., 6.12.x stable)
  5. 5. For systems running kernel >= 6.13 and < 6.13.12: Plan upgrade to kernel 6.13.12 (which includes the fix)
  6. 6. On Debian 11.0 systems: Apply Debian kernel updates or upgrade to a newer Debian release that includes the patched kernel
  7. 7. After kernel upgrade, reboot the system to load the patched kernel
  8. 8. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version matches or exceeds the target fixed version
Caveat Kernel upgrades may introduce subtle behavior changes; test in staging environment before production deployment. The fix adds SRCU locking which may have minor performance impact in the specific KVM MP state code path.

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $1,600. Get the upgrade done

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-23141 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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