CVE-2025-39843

  • Published: 2025-09-19T16:15:43.047

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

mm: slub: avoid wake up kswapd in set_track_prepare

set_track_prepare() can incur lock recursion.
The issue is that it is called from hrtimer_start_range_ns
holding the per_cpu(hrtimer_bases)[n].lock, but when enabled
CONFIG_DEBUG_OBJECTS_TIMERS, may wake up kswapd in set_track_prepare,
and try to hold the per_cpu(hrtimer_bases)[n].lock.

Avoid deadlock caused by implicitly waking up kswapd by passing in
allocation flags, which do not contain __GFP_KSWAPD_RECLAIM in the
debug_objects_fill_pool() case. Inside stack depot they are processed by
gfp_nested_mask().
Since ___slab_alloc() has preemption disabled, we mask out
__GFP_DIRECT_RECLAIM from the flags there.

The oops looks something like:

BUG: spinlock recursion on CPU#3, swapper/3/0
lock: 0xffffff8a4bf29c80, .magic: dead4ead, .owner: swapper/3/0, .owner_cpu: 3
Hardware name: Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. Popsicle based on SM8850 (DT)
Call trace:
spin_bug+0x0
_raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x80
hrtimer_try_to_cancel+0x94
task_contending+0x10c
enqueue_dl_entity+0x2a4
dl_server_start+0x74
enqueue_task_fair+0x568
enqueue_task+0xac
do_activate_task+0x14c
ttwu_do_activate+0xcc
try_to_wake_up+0x6c8
default_wake_function+0x20
autoremove_wake_function+0x1c
__wake_up+0xac
wakeup_kswapd+0x19c
wake_all_kswapds+0x78
__alloc_pages_slowpath+0x1ac
__alloc_pages_noprof+0x298
stack_depot_save_flags+0x6b0
stack_depot_save+0x14
set_track_prepare+0x5c
___slab_alloc+0xccc
__kmalloc_cache_noprof+0x470
__set_page_owner+0x2bc
post_alloc_hook[jt]+0x1b8
prep_new_page+0x28
get_page_from_freelist+0x1edc
__alloc_pages_noprof+0x13c
alloc_slab_page+0x244
allocate_slab+0x7c
___slab_alloc+0x8e8
kmem_cache_alloc_noprof+0x450
debug_objects_fill_pool+0x22c
debug_object_activate+0x40
enqueue_hrtimer[jt]+0xdc
hrtimer_start_range_ns+0x5f8

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How to fix CVE-2025-39843

CVE-2025-39843 is a unknown severity vulnerability affecting the affected product.

Description: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm: slub: avoid wake up kswapd in set_track_prepare set_track_prepare() can incur lock recursion. The issue is that it is called from hrtimer_start_range_ns holding the per_cpu(hrtimer_bases)[n].lock, but when enabled CONFIG_DEBUG_OBJECTS_TIMERS, may wake up kswapd in set_track_prepare, and try to hold the per_cpu(hrtimer_bases)[n].lock. Avoid deadlock caused by […]

Exploit Difficulty: HARD
⏱️ Time to exploit: > 4 hours
🛠️ Required skills: Advanced security expertise
💰 Public exploits: Rare or not public

How to Fix:

1 Identify affected systems

- Check if you're running the affected product

2 Immediate actions

- Update to the latest patched version
- If patching is not immediately possible: restrict network exposure, apply least-privilege access

3 Verification

- Test the fix in a staging environment first
- Review logs for signs of exploitation
- Monitor for IOCs (Indicators of Compromise)

4 Long-term prevention

- Enable automatic security updates
- Set up vulnerability monitoring
- Review and harden security configurations

Exploit Difficulty Assessment

HARD
⏱️ Time to Exploit: > 4 hours
🛠️ Skills Required: Advanced security expertise
💰 Public Exploits: Rare or not public

Vulnerability Timeline

Sep 19, 2025
Vulnerability Published

CVE details first published to NVD database

Nov 12, 2025
Imported to Database

Added to this CVE tracking system

Detection Rules & IOCs

No specific detection rules generated for this vulnerability type.

No vendor/product data available.