# CVE-2025-39899: mm/userfaultfd: fix kmap_local LIFO ordering for CONFIG_HIGHPTE

> A kernel bug in userfaultfd handling on 32-bit ARM with HIGHPTE enabled causes a warning and potential instability due to incorrect memory mapping order.

- **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:** 1 Oct 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2025-39899, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-39899, GHSA-h283-rr2h-w2jj, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-39899, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-39899

## What is CVE-2025-39899?

CVE-2025-39899 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 1 Oct 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:

mm/userfaultfd: fix kmap_local LIFO ordering for CONFIG_HIGHPTE

With CONFIG_HIGHPTE on 32-bit ARM, move_pages_pte() maps PTE pages using
kmap_local_page(), which requires unmapping in Last-In-First-Out order.

The current code maps dst_pte first, then src_pte, but unmaps them in the
same order (dst_pte, src_pte), violating the LIFO requirement.  This
causes the warning in kunmap_local_indexed():

  WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 604 at mm/highmem.c:622 kunmap_local_indexed+0x178/0x17c
  addr \!= __fix_to_virt(FIX_KMAP_BEGIN + idx)

Fix this by reversing the unmap order to respect LIFO ordering.

This issue follows the same pattern as similar fixes:
- commit eca6828403b8 ("crypto: skcipher - fix mismatch between mapping and unmapping order")
- commit 8cf57c6df818 ("nilfs2: eliminate staggered calls to kunmap in nilfs_rename")

Both of which addressed the same fundamental requirement that kmap_local
operations must follow LIFO ordering.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-39899?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-39899?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-39899 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-39899 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-2025-39899 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-39899 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 1 Oct 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-2025-39899 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-2025-39899/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39899/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-39899
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-39899
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-39899

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39899/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.