CVE-2025-38433

riscv: fix runtime constant support for nommu kernels

State
Published
Severity
Not scored
Published
Jul 25, 2025
Updated
May 11, 2026
Reserved
Apr 16, 2025

Read the record on cve.org

Description

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

riscv: fix runtime constant support for nommu kernels

the `__runtime_fixup_32` function does not handle the case where `val` is zero correctly (as might occur when patching a nommu kernel and referring to a physical address below the 4GiB boundary whose upper 32 bits are all zero) because nothing in the existing logic prevents the code from taking the `else` branch of both nop-checks and emitting two `nop` instructions.

This leaves random garbage in the register that is supposed to receive the upper 32 bits of the pointer instead of zero that when combined with the value for the lower 32 bits yields an invalid pointer and causes a kernel panic when that pointer is eventually accessed.

The author clearly considered the fact that if the `lui` is converted into a `nop` that the second instruction needs to be adjusted to become an `li` instead of an `addi`, hence introducing the `addi_insn_mask` variable, but didn't follow that logic through fully to the case where the `else` branch executes. To fix it just adjust the logic to ensure that the second `else` branch is not taken if the first instruction will be patched to a `nop`.

Scores

The record has no CVSS score.

Weaknesses

The record names no weakness.

Affected Products

ProductVersions
LinuxLinux
  • a44fb5722199de8338d991db5ad3d509192179bb to before 0a24b00dcde83934a3cc13e4c6b775522903496bAffected
  • a44fb5722199de8338d991db5ad3d509192179bb to before 8d90d9872edae7e78c3a12b98e239bfaa66f3639Affected
LinuxLinux
  • 6.15Affected
  • before 6.15Not affected
  • 6.15.5 through 6.15.*Not affected
  • 6.16 and laterNot affected

References

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