Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
of_numa: fix uninitialized memory nodes causing kernel panic
When there are memory-only nodes (nodes without CPUs), these nodes are not
properly initialized, causing kernel panic during boot.
of_numa_init
of_numa_parse_cpu_nodes
node_set(nid, numa_nodes_parsed);
of_numa_parse_memory_nodes
In of_numa_parse_cpu_nodes, numa_nodes_parsed gets updated only for nodes
containing CPUs. Memory-only nodes should have been updated in
of_numa_parse_memory_nodes, but they weren't.
Subsequently, when free_area_init() attempts to access NODE_DATA() for
these uninitialized memory nodes, the kernel panics due to NULL pointer
dereference.
This can be reproduced on ARM64 QEMU with 1 CPU and 2 memory nodes:
qemu-system-aarch64 \
-cpu host -nographic \
-m 4G -smp 1 \
-machine virt,accel=kvm,gic-version=3,iommu=smmuv3 \
-object memory-backend-ram,size=2G,id=mem0 \
-object memory-backend-ram,size=2G,id=mem1 \
-numa node,nodeid=0,memdev=mem0 \
-numa node,nodeid=1,memdev=mem1 \
-kernel $IMAGE \
-hda $DISK \
-append "console=ttyAMA0 root=/dev/vda rw earlycon"
[ 0.000000] Booting Linux on physical CPU 0x0000000000 [0x481fd010]
[ 0.000000] Linux version 6.17.0-rc1-00001-gabb4b3daf18c-dirty (yintirui@local) (gcc (GCC) 12.3.1, GNU ld (GNU Binutils) 2.41) #52 SMP PREEMPT Mon Aug 18 09:49:40 CST 2025
[ 0.000000] KASLR enabled
[ 0.000000] random: crng init done
[ 0.000000] Machine model: linux,dummy-virt
[ 0.000000] efi: UEFI not found.
[ 0.000000] earlycon: pl11 at MMIO 0x0000000009000000 (options '')
[ 0.000000] printk: legacy bootconsole [pl11] enabled
[ 0.000000] OF: reserved mem: Reserved memory: No reserved-memory node in the DT
[ 0.000000] NODE_DATA(0) allocated [mem 0xbfffd9c0-0xbfffffff]
[ 0.000000] node 1 must be removed before remove section 23
[ 0.000000] Zone ranges:
[ 0.000000] DMA [mem 0x0000000040000000-0x00000000ffffffff]
[ 0.000000] DMA32 empty
[ 0.000000] Normal [mem 0x0000000100000000-0x000000013fffffff]
[ 0.000000] Movable zone start for each node
[ 0.000000] Early memory node ranges
[ 0.000000] node 0: [mem 0x0000000040000000-0x00000000bfffffff]
[ 0.000000] node 1: [mem 0x00000000c0000000-0x000000013fffffff]
[ 0.000000] Initmem setup node 0 [mem 0x0000000040000000-0x00000000bfffffff]
[ 0.000000] Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 00000000000000a0
[ 0.000000] Mem abort info:
[ 0.000000] ESR = 0x0000000096000004
[ 0.000000] EC = 0x25: DABT (current EL), IL = 32 bits
[ 0.000000] SET = 0, FnV = 0
[ 0.000000] EA = 0, S1PTW = 0
[ 0.000000] FSC = 0x04: level 0 translation fault
[ 0.000000] Data abort info:
[ 0.000000] ISV = 0, ISS = 0x00000004, ISS2 = 0x00000000
[ 0.000000] CM = 0, WnR = 0, TnD = 0, TagAccess = 0
[ 0.000000] GCS = 0, Overlay = 0, DirtyBit = 0, Xs = 0
[ 0.000000] [00000000000000a0] user address but active_mm is swapper
[ 0.000000] Internal error: Oops: 0000000096000004 [#1] SMP
[ 0.000000] Modules linked in:
[ 0.000000] CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper Not tainted 6.17.0-rc1-00001-g760c6dabf762-dirty #54 PREEMPT
[ 0.000000] Hardware name: linux,dummy-virt (DT)
[ 0.000000] pstate: 800000c5 (Nzcv daIF -PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--)
[ 0.000000] pc : free_area_init+0x50c/0xf9c
[ 0.000000] lr : free_area_init+0x5c0/0xf9c
[ 0.000000] sp : ffffa02ca0f33c00
[ 0.000000] x29: ffffa02ca0f33cb0 x28: 0000000000000000 x27: 0000000000000000
[ 0.000000] x26: 4ec4ec4ec4ec4ec5 x25: 00000000000c0000 x24: 00000000000c0000
[ 0.000000] x23: 0000000000040000 x22: 0000000000000000 x21: ffffa02ca0f3b368
[ 0.000000] x20: ffffa02ca14c7b98 x19: 0000000000000000 x18: 0000000000000002
[ 0.000000] x17: 000000000000cacc x16: 0000000000000001 x15: 0000000000000001
[ 0.000000] x14: 0000000080000000 x13: 0000000000000018 x12: 0000000000000002
[ 0.0
---truncated---
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.12 | 6.12.46 |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | linux | 6.16.6-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | linux | 6.12.48-1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 25.10 | linux-azure-fde | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-intel +18 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-riscv +32 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-gke +28 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-gcp +14 | No fix yet | — |
Show 2 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | linux-hwe-edge | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-realtime-6.14 | No fix yet | — |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 10 | rv +76 | 6.12.0-124.11.1.el10_1 | RHSA-2025:21463 |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 10.0 EUS | rv +77 | 6.12.0-55.45.1.el10_0 | RHSA-2025:21492 |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES for SAP 16.0 | kernel-64kb +7 | 6.12.0-160000.7.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:21147-1 |
| SLES for SAP 16.0 | kernel-default-base | 6.12.0-160000.6.1.160000.2.4 | SUSE-SU-2025:21147-1 |
| SLES 16.0 | kernel-64kb +7 | 6.12.0-160000.7.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:21180-1, SUSE-SU-2025:21147-1 |
| SLES 16.0 | kernel-default-base | 6.12.0-160000.6.1.160000.2.4 | SUSE-SU-2025:21147-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.2 | kernel-default-base | 6.12.0-160000.6.1.160000.2.4 | SUSE-SU-2025:21080-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.2 | kernel-rt +5 | 6.12.0-160000.7.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:20561-1, SUSE-SU-2025:21080-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | kernel-default-base | 6.12.0-160000.6.1.160000.2.4 | openSUSE-SU-2025:20091-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | kernel-rt +10 | 6.12.0-160000.7.1 | openSUSE-SU-2025:20091-1 |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2023 | kernel-livepatch-6.12.46-66.121 | 1:1.0-0.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2025-1208 |
| Amazon Linux 2023 | perf6.12 +14 | 1:6.12.46-66.121.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2025-1208 |
Oracle Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Linux 10 | rv +29 | 6.12.0-124.13.1.el10_1 | ELSA-2025-21463 |
| Oracle Linux 9 | kernel-uek +34 | 6.12.0-105.51.5.el10uek | ELSA-2025-25754 |
Advisories 11
- WID-SEC-2025-2170 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 12, 2026
- RHSA-2025:21463 Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jul 30, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:20561-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jul 9, 2026
- RHSA-2025:21492 Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 30, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2025:20091-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:21147-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:21080-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:21180-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- ELSA-2025-21463 Moderate: kernel security update (Oracle Linux 10) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Dec 4, 2025
- ELSA-2025-25754 Important: Unbreakable Enterprise kernel security update (Oracle Linux 9) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Nov 9, 2025
- ALAS2023-2025-1208 Important: kernel6.12 security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Oct 18, 2025