CVE-2025-68248: vmw_balloon: indicate success when effectively deflating during migration

Published Dec 16, 2025
·
Updated

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

vmwballoon: indicate success when effectively deflating during migration

When migrating a balloon page, we first deflate the old page to then inflate the new page.

However, if inflating the new page succeeded, we effectively deflated the old page, reducing the balloon size.

In that case, the migration actually worked: similar to migrating+ immediately deflating the new page. The old page will be freed back to the buddy.

Right now, the core will leave the page be marked as isolated (as we returned an error). When later trying to putback that page, we will run into the WARNONONCE() in balloonpageputback().

That handling was changed in commit 3544c4faccb8 ("mm/ballooncompaction: stop using ClearPageMovable()"); before that change, we would have tolerated that way of handling it.

To fix it, let's just return 0 in that case, making the core effectively just clear the "isolated" flag + freeing it back to the buddy as if the migration succeeded. Note that the new page will also get freed when the core puts the last reference.

Note that this also makes it all be more consistent: we will no longer unisolate the page in the balloon driver while keeping it marked as being isolated in migration core.

This was found by code inspection.

Affected Software

1 affected component
Linux Linux kernel

Event History

Dec 16, 2025
CVE Published
via MITRE·02:32 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·02:32 PM
Description
Data Sourced
via NVD·03:15 PM
Description

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2025-68248?

CVE-2025-68248 has been classified as a medium severity vulnerability.

2

How do I fix CVE-2025-68248?

To fix CVE-2025-68248, upgrade the Linux kernel to versions 5.10.1 or later.

3

What impact does CVE-2025-68248 have on the Linux kernel?

CVE-2025-68248 affects the migration process of balloon pages in the Linux kernel, potentially leading to unexpected behavior.

4

Is CVE-2025-68248 exploitable remotely?

CVE-2025-68248 is not considered to be remotely exploitable as it requires local access.

5

Which versions of the Linux kernel are affected by CVE-2025-68248?

CVE-2025-68248 affects Linux kernel versions from 5.4 up to 5.10.

Contact

SecAlerts Pty Ltd.
132 Wickham Terrace
Fortitude Valley,
QLD 4006, Australia
info@secalerts.co
By using SecAlerts services, you agree to our services end-user license agreement. This website is safeguarded by reCAPTCHA and governed by the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. All names, logos, and brands of products are owned by their respective owners, and any usage of these names, logos, and brands for identification purposes only does not imply endorsement. If you possess any content that requires removal, please get in touch with us.
© 2026 SecAlerts Pty Ltd.
ABN: 70 645 966 203, ACN: 645 966 203