CVE-2025-22015

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2025-22015?

CVE-2025-22015 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (MEDIUM). A Linux kernel memory management vulnerability allows corruption of xarray entries during shmem page migration. This can lead to kernel memory corruption and potential privilege escalation or denial of service. Affects Linux systems with vulnerable kernel versions.

5.5 MEDIUM

📋 TL;DR

A Linux kernel memory management vulnerability allows corruption of xarray entries during shmem page migration. This can lead to kernel memory corruption and potential privilege escalation or denial of service. Affects Linux systems with vulnerable kernel versions.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Linux kernel

Versions: Specific vulnerable versions not explicitly stated in CVE, but patches available for multiple stable branches

Operating Systems: Linux distributions using affected kernel versions

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Affects systems using shmem (shared memory) functionality. Requires specific memory operations to trigger.

📦 What is this software?

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

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⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Kernel memory corruption leading to privilege escalation, system crash, or data corruption.

🟠

Likely Case

System instability, kernel panics, or denial of service due to memory corruption.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact if proper kernel hardening and isolation are in place.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - Requires local access or ability to trigger specific memory operations.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Local users could potentially exploit to gain elevated privileges or cause system instability.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: HIGH - Requires specific memory operations and understanding of kernel internals

Exploitation requires local access and ability to trigger shmem page migration operations.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Multiple stable kernel versions with fixes: 29124ae980e2, 49100c0b070e, 60cf233b585c, 75cfb92eb632, c057ee03f751

Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/29124ae980e2860f0eec7355949d3d3292ee81da

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Identify current kernel version. 2. Update to patched kernel version from your distribution's repositories. 3. Reboot system to load new kernel.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable shmem if not needed

linux

Reduce attack surface by disabling shared memory functionality if not required

echo 'tmpfs /dev/shm tmpfs defaults,noexec,nosuid 0 0' >> /etc/fstab
mount -o remount /dev/shm

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Restrict local user access to minimize potential attackers
Implement kernel hardening features like SELinux/AppArmor to limit damage

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check kernel version against patched versions: uname -r and compare with distribution security advisories

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify kernel version after update matches patched version and system is stable

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Kernel oops messages
System crashes or panics
Memory corruption warnings in dmesg

Network Indicators:

None - local vulnerability

SIEM Query:

source="kernel" AND ("Oops" OR "panic" OR "BUG" OR "corruption")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2025-22015

CVSS v3 Score: 5.5 (MEDIUM)

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

CWE: CWE-476

EPSS Score: 0.08% exploit probability (24.5th percentile)

Published: April 8, 2025

Last Updated: November 3, 2025

📋 TL;DR

💻 Affected Systems

📦 What is this software?

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

Worst Case

Likely Case

If Mitigated

🎯 Exploit Status

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Instructions:

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable shmem if not needed

🧯 If You Can't Patch

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Version:

Verify Fix Applied:

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Network Indicators:

SIEM Query:

📊 Metadata

🔗 References

📤 Share & Export

🔗 Related Vulnerabilities