PT-2025-43107 · Linux+2 · Linux Kernel+2
Published
2023-11-07
·
Updated
2026-03-13
·
CVE-2023-53706
None
No severity ratings or metrics are available. When they are, we'll update the corresponding info on the page.
Name of the Vulnerable Software and Affected Versions
Linux kernel versions prior to 6.3.0-rc5-150500.34-default+
Description
The Linux kernel had a flaw in the mm/vmemmap/devdax subsystem that could lead to a kernel crash when probing devdax devices. A commit (4917f55b4ef9) introduced optimized vmemmap support for devdax devices, but it didn't account for architecture-specific memory mapping methods. Specifically, architectures like PowerPC with hash translation do not use traditional vmemmap mappings in the initial memory page table; instead, they utilize bolted table entries in the hardware page table. The
vmemmap populate compound pages() function, used by the optimization code, was unaware of these differences. The patch resolves this by allowing architectures to opt into the feature based on support for the HUGETLB PAGE OPTIMIZE VMEMMAP option. The issue manifested as a kernel crash on ppc64 systems, indicated by a "Kernel access of bad area" error.Recommendations
Versions prior to 6.3.0-rc5-150500.34-default+ should be updated.
Exploit
Found an issue in the description? Have something to add? Feel free to write us 👾
Related Identifiers
Affected Products
Debian
Linux Kernel
Red Hat