# CVE-2025-37898: powerpc64/ftrace: fix module loading without patchable function entries

> A flaw in the Linux kernel's powerpc64 ftrace module loading causes a denial of service when loading modules without patchable function entries.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 20 May 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2025-37898, GHSA-hc3m-pcgg-jv94, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-37898

## What is CVE-2025-37898?

CVE-2025-37898 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 20 May 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

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

powerpc64/ftrace: fix module loading without patchable function entries

get_stubs_size assumes that there must always be at least one patchable
function entry, which is not always the case (modules that export data
but no code), otherwise it returns -ENOEXEC and thus the section header
sh_size is set to that value. During module_memory_alloc() the size is
passed to execmem_alloc() after being page-aligned and thus set to zero
which will cause it to fail the allocation (and thus module loading) as
__vmalloc_node_range() checks for zero-sized allocs and returns null:

[  115.466896] module_64: cast_common: doesn't contain __patchable_function_entries.
[  115.469189] ------------[ cut here ]------------
[  115.469496] WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 274 at mm/vmalloc.c:3778 __vmalloc_node_range_noprof+0x8b4/0x8f0
...
[  115.478574] ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]---
[  115.479545] execmem: unable to allocate memory

Fix this by removing the check completely, since it is anyway not
helpful to propagate this as an error upwards.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-37898?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-37898?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-37898 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-37898 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-37898 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-37898 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 20 May 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-37898 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-37898/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-37898/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-37898
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-37898
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-37898

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-37898/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.