# CVE-2025-39904: arm64: kexec: initialize kexec_buf struct in load_other_segments()

> Uninitialized memory in the Linux kernel kexec subsystem can lead to invalid loads and potential system instability or crashes.

- **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-2025-39904, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-39904, GHSA-9j3f-w66p-jqvg, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-39904

## What is CVE-2025-39904?

CVE-2025-39904 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:

arm64: kexec: initialize kexec_buf struct in load_other_segments()

Patch series "kexec: Fix invalid field access".

The kexec_buf structure was previously declared without initialization. 
commit bf454ec31add ("kexec_file: allow to place kexec_buf randomly")
added a field that is always read but not consistently populated by all
architectures.  This un-initialized field will contain garbage.

This is also triggering a UBSAN warning when the uninitialized data was
accessed:

	------------[ cut here ]------------
	UBSAN: invalid-load in ./include/linux/kexec.h:210:10
	load of value 252 is not a valid value for type '_Bool'

Zero-initializing kexec_buf at declaration ensures all fields are cleanly
set, preventing future instances of uninitialized memory being used.

An initial fix was already landed for arm64[0], and this patchset fixes
the problem on the remaining arm64 code and on riscv, as raised by Mark.

Discussions about this problem could be found at[1][2].

This patch (of 3):

The kexec_buf structure was previously declared without initialization.
commit bf454ec31add ("kexec_file: allow to place kexec_buf randomly")
added a field that is always read but not consistently populated by all
architectures. This un-initialized field will contain garbage.

This is also triggering a UBSAN warning when the uninitialized data was
accessed:

	------------[ cut here ]------------
	UBSAN: invalid-load in ./include/linux/kexec.h:210:10
	load of value 252 is not a valid value for type '_Bool'

Zero-initializing kexec_buf at declaration ensures all fields are
cleanly set, preventing future instances of uninitialized memory being
used.

Weakness: CWE-908 (Use of Uninitialized Resource)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-39904?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-39904?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-39904 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-39904 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-2025-39904 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-39904 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-2025-39904 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-2025-39904/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39904/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-39904
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-39904
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-39904

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39904/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.
