CVE-2025-36920
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 · uneditedIn hyp_alloc of arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/nvhe/alloc.c, there is a possible out of bounds write due to improper input validation. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.
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 · moderate confidenceThis is a kernel vulnerability in the ARM64 KVM (Kernel Virtual Machine) hypervisor's non-VHE (nvhe) memory allocation code. An improper input validation flaw in hyp_alloc() in arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/nvhe/alloc.c allows an out-of-bounds write, enabling local privilege escalation to root/hypervisor level without requiring user interaction or additional execution privileges.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify ARM64 architectureRun 'uname -m' or check /proc/cpuinfo for 'aarch64' or 'arm64' processor architectureAffected if System is not running on ARM64 (aarch64) architecture, as this vulnerability only affects ARM64 KVM hypervisor code
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Confirm KVM for ARM64 is enabledCheck if KVM modules are loaded: 'lsmod | grep -E "kvm|kvm_arm"' or check /dev/kvm exists. Also verify KVM is listed in /sys/kernel/kvmAffected if KVM for ARM64 is not loaded or available - the vulnerability exists in the KVM hypervisor code, so KVM must be enabled for the attack surface to exist
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Check kernel version against patchesRun 'uname -r' to get kernel version. Compare against any vendor security advisories or upstream kernel patch dates for CVE-2025-36920. Note: Google Android lists all versions as affectedAffected if Kernel version predates the security patch for CVE-2025-36920 and KVM ARM64 is enabled
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Verify the vulnerable code path existsCheck if the kernel was built with CONFIG_KVM_ARM64 enabled: 'cat /boot/config-$(uname -r) | grep KVM_ARM' or check /proc/config.gz if availableAffected if CONFIG_KVM_ARM64 is enabled in the kernel configuration - the vulnerable hyp_alloc function in arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/nvhe/alloc.c is part of the KVM ARM64 non-virtualized hyp code
A user is affected if they are running Google Android on ARM64 architecture with KVM ARM64 enabled and their kernel version predates the CVE-2025-36920 security patch.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor dataApply the upstream Linux kernel patch for CVE-2025-36920 which adds proper input validation/bounds checking in the hyp_alloc function. This is a kernel-level fix requiring kernel rebuild and system reboot.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,832.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-36920 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-36920 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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