Linux Kernel up to 6.15.3 ext4 /mnt/foo truncate_inode_partial_folio out-of-bounds

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4.8$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability categorized as problematic has been discovered in Linux Kernel up to 6.15.3. This affects the function truncate_inode_partial_folio of the file /mnt/foo of the component ext4. Executing a manipulation can lead to out-of-bounds. This vulnerability appears as CVE-2025-38221. There is no available exploit. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as problematic was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.15.3. This vulnerability affects the function truncate_inode_partial_folio of the file /mnt/foo of the component ext4. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a out-of-bounds vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-125. The product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: fix out of bounds punch offset Punching a hole with a start offset that exceeds max_end is not permitted and will result in a negative length in the truncate_inode_partial_folio() function while truncating the page cache, potentially leading to undesirable consequences. A simple reproducer: truncate -s 9895604649994 /mnt/foo xfs_io -c "pwrite 8796093022208 4096" /mnt/foo xfs_io -c "fpunch 8796093022213 25769803777" /mnt/foo kernel BUG at include/linux/highmem.h:275! Oops: invalid opcode: 0000 [#1] SMP PTI CPU: 3 UID: 0 PID: 710 Comm: xfs_io Not tainted 6.15.0-rc3 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.16.3-2.fc40 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:zero_user_segments.constprop.0+0xd7/0x110 RSP: 0018:ffffc90001cf3b38 EFLAGS: 00010287 RAX: 0000000000000005 RBX: ffffea0001485e40 RCX: 0000000000001000 RDX: 000000000040b000 RSI: 0000000000000005 RDI: 000000000040b000 RBP: 000000000040affb R08: ffff888000000000 R09: ffffea0000000000 R10: 0000000000000003 R11: 00000000fffc7fc5 R12: 0000000000000005 R13: 000000000040affb R14: ffffea0001485e40 R15: ffff888031cd3000 FS: 00007f4f63d0b780(0000) GS:ffff8880d337d000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 000000001ae0b038 CR3: 00000000536aa000 CR4: 00000000000006f0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: <TASK> truncate_inode_partial_folio+0x3dd/0x620 truncate_inode_pages_range+0x226/0x720 ? bdev_getblk+0x52/0x3e0 ? ext4_get_group_desc+0x78/0x150 ? crc32c_arch+0xfd/0x180 ? __ext4_get_inode_loc+0x18c/0x840 ? ext4_inode_csum+0x117/0x160 ? jbd2_journal_dirty_metadata+0x61/0x390 ? __ext4_handle_dirty_metadata+0xa0/0x2b0 ? kmem_cache_free+0x90/0x5a0 ? jbd2_journal_stop+0x1d5/0x550 ? __ext4_journal_stop+0x49/0x100 truncate_pagecache_range+0x50/0x80 ext4_truncate_page_cache_block_range+0x57/0x3a0 ext4_punch_hole+0x1fe/0x670 ext4_fallocate+0x792/0x17d0 ? __count_memcg_events+0x175/0x2a0 vfs_fallocate+0x121/0x560 ksys_fallocate+0x51/0xc0 __x64_sys_fallocate+0x24/0x40 x64_sys_call+0x18d2/0x4170 do_syscall_64+0xa7/0x220 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e Fix this by filtering out cases where the punching start offset exceeds max_end.

The advisory is available at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2025-38221 since 04/16/2025. The exploitation appears to be difficult. Technical details are known, but there is no available exploit.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 270575 (Oracle Linux 10 / 9 : Unbreakable Enterprise kernel (ELSA-2025-20662)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.15.4 or 6.16-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 28b62cb58fd014338f5004170f2e3a35bf0af238/b5e58bcd79625423487fa3ecba8e8411b5396327 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (270575), EUVD (EUVD-2025-20035) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-1465). If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.

Affected

  • Debian Linux
  • Amazon Linux 2
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux
  • Ubuntu Linux
  • SUSE Linux
  • Oracle Linux
  • IBM QRadar SIEM
  • SUSE openSUSE
  • RESF Rocky Linux
  • Dell Avamar
  • Open Source Linux Kernel
  • Dell NetWorker
  • Dell Secure Connect Gateway

Productinfo

Type

Vendor

Name

Version

License

Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 4.8
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 4.8

VulDB Base Score: 2.6
VulDB Temp Score: 2.5
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 7.1
NVD Vector: 🔒

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
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💳💳💳💳💳💳
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VectorComplexityAuthenticationConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Out-of-bounds
CWE: CWE-125 / CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Partially

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

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Nessus ID: 270575
Nessus Name: Oracle Linux 10 / 9 : Unbreakable Enterprise kernel (ELSA-2025-20662)

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 6.15.4/6.16-rc1
Patch: 28b62cb58fd014338f5004170f2e3a35bf0af238/b5e58bcd79625423487fa3ecba8e8411b5396327

Timelineinfo

04/16/2025 CVE reserved
07/04/2025 +79 days Advisory disclosed
07/04/2025 +0 days VulDB entry created
12/13/2025 +162 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2025-38221 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2025-38221
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-314938
EUVD: 🔒
CERT Bund: WID-SEC-2025-1465 - Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen erm&ouml;glichen Denial of Service

Entryinfo

Created: 07/04/2025 16:25
Updated: 12/13/2025 23:12
Changes: 07/04/2025 16:25 (60), 07/04/2025 17:59 (1), 07/20/2025 19:37 (7), 08/01/2025 13:23 (1), 08/25/2025 23:21 (1), 09/11/2025 09:21 (1), 09/21/2025 06:22 (1), 10/17/2025 10:19 (2), 11/03/2025 04:03 (1), 11/18/2025 16:30 (12), 12/13/2025 23:12 (1)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.

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