# CVE-2025-71102: scs: fix a wrong parameter in __scs_magic

> A kernel bug in shadow call stack debugging can cause a crash if CONFIG_DEBUG_STACK_USAGE is enabled, affecting only debug builds.

- **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:** 14 Jan 2026
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2025-71102, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-71102, GHSA-gf68-mp28-3r2v, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2025-71102, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2025-71102, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2025-71102, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2025-71102, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-71102, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-71102

## What is CVE-2025-71102?

CVE-2025-71102 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 14 Jan 2026. 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:

scs: fix a wrong parameter in __scs_magic

__scs_magic() needs a 'void *' variable, but a 'struct task_struct *' is
given.  'task_scs(tsk)' is the starting address of the task's shadow call
stack, and '__scs_magic(task_scs(tsk))' is the end address of the task's
shadow call stack.  Here should be '__scs_magic(task_scs(tsk))'.

The user-visible effect of this bug is that when CONFIG_DEBUG_STACK_USAGE
is enabled, the shadow call stack usage checking function
(scs_check_usage) would scan an incorrect memory range.  This could lead

1. **Inaccurate stack usage reporting**: The function would calculate
   wrong usage statistics for the shadow call stack, potentially showing
   incorrect value in kmsg.

2. **Potential kernel crash**: If the value of __scs_magic(tsk)is
   greater than that of __scs_magic(task_scs(tsk)), the for loop may
   access unmapped memory, potentially causing a kernel panic.  However,
   this scenario is unlikely because task_struct is allocated via the slab
   allocator (which typically returns lower addresses), while the shadow
   call stack returned by task_scs(tsk) is allocated via vmalloc(which
   typically returns higher addresses).

However, since this is purely a debugging feature
(CONFIG_DEBUG_STACK_USAGE), normal production systems should be not
unaffected.  The bug only impacts developers and testers who are actively
debugging stack usage with this configuration enabled.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-71102?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-71102?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-71102 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-71102 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-2025-71102 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-71102 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 14 Jan 2026. 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-2025-71102 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-2025-71102/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-71102/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-71102
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-71102
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-71102

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-71102/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.
