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Linux Kernel Flaw Allows Unprivileged Access to Kernel Memory
CVE-2025-71202
Summary
A security issue in the Linux kernel allowed unprivileged users to access kernel memory. This has been fixed by introducing a new interface to flush kernel memory caches. Linux users and administrators should update their kernel to the latest version to ensure they have the fix.
Original title
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
iommu/sva: invalidate stale IOTLB entries for kernel address space
Introduce a new IOMMU interface to flush IOTLB paging cache ...
Original description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
iommu/sva: invalidate stale IOTLB entries for kernel address space
Introduce a new IOMMU interface to flush IOTLB paging cache entries for
the CPU kernel address space. This interface is invoked from the x86
architecture code that manages combined user and kernel page tables,
specifically before any kernel page table page is freed and reused.
This addresses the main issue with vfree() which is a common occurrence
and can be triggered by unprivileged users. While this resolves the
primary problem, it doesn't address some extremely rare case related to
memory unplug of memory that was present as reserved memory at boot, which
cannot be triggered by unprivileged users. The discussion can be found at
the link below.
Enable SVA on x86 architecture since the IOMMU can now receive
notification to flush the paging cache before freeing the CPU kernel page
table pages.
iommu/sva: invalidate stale IOTLB entries for kernel address space
Introduce a new IOMMU interface to flush IOTLB paging cache entries for
the CPU kernel address space. This interface is invoked from the x86
architecture code that manages combined user and kernel page tables,
specifically before any kernel page table page is freed and reused.
This addresses the main issue with vfree() which is a common occurrence
and can be triggered by unprivileged users. While this resolves the
primary problem, it doesn't address some extremely rare case related to
memory unplug of memory that was present as reserved memory at boot, which
cannot be triggered by unprivileged users. The discussion can be found at
the link below.
Enable SVA on x86 architecture since the IOMMU can now receive
notification to flush the paging cache before freeing the CPU kernel page
table pages.
Published: 14 Feb 2026 · Updated: 10 Mar 2026 · First seen: 6 Mar 2026