Linux Kernel up to 6.17.5 mm/page_owner.c add_stack_record_to_list stack-based overflow

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.17.5. It has been rated as critical. Affected is the function add_stack_record_to_list of the file mm/page_owner.c. Performing a manipulation results in stack-based overflow. This vulnerability is cataloged as CVE-2025-68253. There is no exploit available. Upgrading the affected component is advised.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.17.5. This affects the function add_stack_record_to_list of the file mm/page_owner.c. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a stack-based overflow vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-121. A stack-based buffer overflow condition is a condition where the buffer being overwritten is allocated on the stack (i.e., is a local variable or, rarely, a parameter to a function). This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm: don't spin in add_stack_record when gfp flags don't allow syzbot was able to find the following path: add_stack_record_to_list mm/page_owner.c:182 [inline] inc_stack_record_count mm/page_owner.c:214 [inline] __set_page_owner+0x2c3/0x4a0 mm/page_owner.c:333 set_page_owner include/linux/page_owner.h:32 [inline] post_alloc_hook+0x240/0x2a0 mm/page_alloc.c:1851 prep_new_page mm/page_alloc.c:1859 [inline] get_page_from_freelist+0x21e4/0x22c0 mm/page_alloc.c:3858 alloc_pages_nolock_noprof+0x94/0x120 mm/page_alloc.c:7554 Don't spin in add_stack_record_to_list() when it is called from *_nolock() context.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2025-68253 since 12/16/2025. The exploitability is told to be easy. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 02/22/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 298897 (Ubuntu 25.10 : Linux kernel vulnerabilities (USN-8029-1)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.17.6 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 504174133453e3af73e626e328603d7eb5986f34/c83aab85e18103a6dc066b4939e2c92a02bb1b05 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 (298897), EUVD (EUVD-2025-203643) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2868). Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• SUSE openSUSE
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Open Source Linux Kernel

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.17.0
• 6.17.1
• 6.17.2
• 6.17.3
• 6.17.4
• 6.17.5

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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