Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-37807

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.12.26 / 6.14.5 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: bpf: Fix kmemleak warning for percpu hashmap Vlad Poenaru reported the following kmemleak issue: unreferenced object 0x606fd7c44ac8 (size 32): backtrace (crc 0): pcpu_alloc_noprof+0x730/0xeb0 bpf_map_alloc_percpu+0x69/0xc0 prealloc_init+0x9d/0x1b0 htab_map_alloc+0x363/0x510 map_create+0x215/0x3a0 __sys_bpf+0x16b/0x3e0 __x64_sys_bpf+0x18/0x20 do_syscall_64+0x7b/0x150 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 Further investigation shows the reason is due to not 8-byte aligned store of percpu pointer in htab_elem_set_ptr(): *(void __percpu **)(l->key + key_size) = pptr; Note that the whole htab_elem alignment is 8 (for x86_64). If the key_size is 4, that means pptr is stored in a location which is 4 byte aligned but not 8 byte aligned. In mm/kmemleak.c, scan_block() scans the memory based on 8 byte stride, so it won't detect above pptr, hence reporting the memory leak. In htab_map_alloc(), we already have htab->elem_size = sizeof(struct htab_elem) + round_up(htab->map.key_size, 8); if (percpu) htab->elem_size += sizeof(void *); else htab->elem_size += round_up(htab->map.value_size, 8); So storing pptr with 8-byte alignment won't cause any problem and can fix kmemleak too. The issue can be reproduced with bpf selftest as well: 1. Enable CONFIG_DEBUG_KMEMLEAK config 2. Add a getchar() before skel destroy in test_hash_map() in prog_tests/for_each.c. The purpose is to keep map available so kmemleak can be detected. 3. run './test_progs -t for_each/hash_map &' and a kmemleak should be reported.

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
How this class of weakness works · CWE-401

Allocated memory is never released on some path, so a long-running service or a repeatedly triggered request steadily consumes memory until performance degrades or the process crashes. Attackers exploit it by simply driving the leaking path. Remediation is pairing every allocation with a release and using ownership patterns or tooling to catch what leaks.

General guidance for the memory leak class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

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:< 6.12.26>= 6.13, < 6.14.5

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 6.12.26 / 6.14.5 or later
Fixed in 6.12.266.14.5
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 6.12.26+ or 6.14.5+ (depending on your current branch)

  1. 1. Identify the currently running Linux kernel version using `uname -r` or `cat /proc/version`
  2. 2. Check if the current kernel version is affected: < 6.12.26 OR (>= 6.13 AND < 6.14.5)
  3. 3. If affected, upgrade the kernel to version 6.12.26 or later for the 6.12.x stable branch
  4. 4. Alternatively, for systems running 6.13.x or 6.14.x, upgrade to kernel version 6.14.5 or later
  5. 5. After kernel upgrade, reboot the system to apply the new kernel
  6. 6. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version matches a fixed release
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuild of out-of-tree modules; ensure compatible drivers/modules are available before upgrading

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-2025-37807 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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