CVE-2025-68259: KVM: SVM: Don't skip unrelated instruction if INT3/INTO is replaced

Published Dec 16, 2025
·
Updated

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

KVM: SVM: Don't skip unrelated instruction if INT3/INTO is replaced

When re-injecting a soft interrupt from an INT3, INT0, or (select) INTn instruction, discard the exception and retry the instruction if the code stream is changed (e.g. by a different vCPU) between when the CPU executes the instruction and when KVM decodes the instruction to get the next RIP.

As effectively predicted by commit 6ef88d6e36c2 ("KVM: SVM: Re-inject INT3/INTO instead of retrying the instruction"), failure to verify that the correct INTn instruction was decoded can effectively clobber guest state due to decoding the wrong instruction and thus specifying the wrong next RIP.

The bug most often manifests as "Oops: int3" panics on static branch checks in Linux guests. Enabling or disabling a static branch in Linux uses the kernel's "text poke" code patching mechanism. To modify code while other CPUs may be executing that code, Linux (temporarily) replaces the first byte of the original instruction with an int3 (opcode 0xcc), then patches in the new code stream except for the first byte, and finally replaces the int3 with the first byte of the new code stream. If a CPU hits the int3, i.e. executes the code while it's being modified, then the guest kernel must look up the RIP to determine how to handle the #BP, e.g. by emulating the new instruction. If the RIP is incorrect, then this lookup fails and the guest kernel panics.

The bug reproduces almost instantly by hacking the guest kernel to repeatedly check a static branch[1] while running a drgn script[2] on the host to constantly swap out the memory containing the guest's TSS.

[1]: https://gist.github.com/osandov/44d17c51c28c0ac998ea0334edf90b5a [2]: https://gist.github.com/osandov/10e45e45afa29b11e0c7209247afc00b

Affected Software

153 affected componentsFixes available
Linux Linux kernel
Microsoft azl3 kernel 6.6.117.1-1
ubuntu/linux-hwe-edge*
ubuntu/linux-aws-5.0*
ubuntu/linux-aws-5.3*
ubuntu/linux-azure*
ubuntu/linux-azure-5.3*
ubuntu/linux-azure-edge*
ubuntu/linux-gcp*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.3*
ubuntu/linux-gke-4.15*
ubuntu/linux-gke-5.4*
ubuntu/linux-gkeop-5.4*
ubuntu/linux-hwe*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-edge*
ubuntu/linux-oem*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.0*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.3*
ubuntu/linux-aws-5.11*
ubuntu/linux-aws-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-aws-5.8*
ubuntu/linux-azure-5.11*
ubuntu/linux-azure-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-azure-5.8*
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.11*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.8*
ubuntu/linux-gke*
ubuntu/linux-gke-5.15*
ubuntu/linux-gkeop*
ubuntu/linux-gkeop-5.15*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-5.11*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-5.8*
ubuntu/linux-intel-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-oem-5.10*
ubuntu/linux-oem-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-oem-5.6*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.11*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.8*
ubuntu/linux-raspi2*
ubuntu/linux-riscv*
ubuntu/linux-riscv-5.11*
ubuntu/linux-riscv-5.8*
ubuntu/linux-allwinner-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-aws-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-aws-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-aws-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-aws-6.8<6.8.0-1052.55~22.04.1
6.8.0-1052.55~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-azure-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-azure-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-azure-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-azure-6.8<6.8.0-1059.65~22.04.1
6.8.0-1059.65~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-6.8<6.8.0-1058.65~22.04.1
6.8.0-1058.65~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.8<6.8.0-1054.57~22.04.1
6.8.0-1054.57~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-hwe-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.8<6.8.0-110.110~22.04.1
6.8.0-110.110~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-ibm-6.8<6.8.0-1051.51~22.04.1
6.8.0-1051.51~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-intel-iot-realtime*
ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8<6.8.0-110.110.1~22.04.1
6.8.0-110.110.1~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.8<6.8.0-1051.54~22.04.1
6.8.0-1051.54~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-oem-5.17*
ubuntu/linux-oem-6.0*
ubuntu/linux-oem-6.1*
ubuntu/linux-oem-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.8<6.8.0-1049.50~22.04.1
6.8.0-1049.50~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-realtime*
ubuntu/linux-riscv*
ubuntu/linux-riscv-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-riscv-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-riscv-6.8<6.8.0-110.110~22.04.1
6.8.0-110.110~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-starfive-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-starfive-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-starfive-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-realtime-6.8<6.8.1-1047.48~22.04.1
6.8.1-1047.48~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux<6.8.0-110.110
6.8.0-110.110
ubuntu/linux-aws<6.8.0-1052.55
6.8.0-1052.55
ubuntu/linux-aws-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-aws-6.17<6.17.0-1009.9~24.04.2
6.17.0-1009.9~24.04.2
ubuntu/linux-azure<6.8.0-1054.60
6.8.0-1054.60
ubuntu/linux-azure-6.11*
ubuntu/linux-azure-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-azure-6.17<6.17.0-1010.10~24.04.1
6.17.0-1010.10~24.04.1
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde<6.8.0-1058.65
6.8.0-1058.65
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-azure-nvidia<6.8.0-1039.42
6.8.0-1039.42
ubuntu/linux-azure-nvidia-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-gcp<6.8.0-1054.57
6.8.0-1054.57
ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.11*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.17<6.17.0-1009.9~24.04.3
6.17.0-1009.9~24.04.3
ubuntu/linux-gke<6.8.0-1050.56
6.8.0-1050.56
ubuntu/linux-gkeop<6.8.0-1037.40
6.8.0-1037.40
ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.11*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.17<6.17.0-19.19~24.04.2
6.17.0-19.19~24.04.2
ubuntu/linux-ibm<6.8.0-1051.51
6.8.0-1051.51
ubuntu/linux-lowlatency<6.8.0-110.110.1
6.8.0-110.110.1
ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.11*
ubuntu/linux-nvidia<6.8.0-1051.54
6.8.0-1051.54
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.11*
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.17<6.17.0-1018.18
6.17.0-1018.18
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-lowlatency<6.8.0-1051.54.1
6.8.0-1051.54.1
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-tegra<6.8.0-1022.22
6.8.0-1022.22
ubuntu/linux-oem-6.11*
ubuntu/linux-oem-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-oem-6.17<6.17.0-1017.17
6.17.0-1017.17
ubuntu/linux-oem-6.8*
ubuntu/linux-oracle<6.8.0-1049.50
6.8.0-1049.50
ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.17<6.17.0-1009.9~24.04.1
6.17.0-1009.9~24.04.1
ubuntu/linux-raspi<6.8.0-1052.56
6.8.0-1052.56
ubuntu/linux-raspi-realtime*
ubuntu/linux-realtime*
ubuntu/linux-riscv*
ubuntu/linux-riscv-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-riscv-6.17<6.17.0-19.19.1~24.04.1
6.17.0-19.19.1~24.04.1
ubuntu/linux-xilinx<6.8.0-1028.29
6.8.0-1028.29
ubuntu/linux-bluefield<6.8.0-1017.21
6.8.0-1017.21
ubuntu/linux-raspi-realtime<6.8.0-2042.43
6.8.0-2042.43
ubuntu/linux-realtime<6.8.1-1047.48
6.8.1-1047.48
ubuntu/linux-realtime-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-realtime-6.17<6.17.0-1008.9~24.04.1
6.17.0-1008.9~24.04.1
ubuntu/linux-aws-fips<6.8.0-1052.55+fips1
6.8.0-1052.55+fips1
ubuntu/linux-azure-fips<6.8.0-1053.59+fips1
6.8.0-1053.59+fips1
ubuntu/linux-fips<6.8.0-110.110+fips2
6.8.0-110.110+fips2
ubuntu/linux-gcp-fips<6.8.0-1054.57+fips1
6.8.0-1054.57+fips1
ubuntu/linux<6.17.0-19.19
6.17.0-19.19
ubuntu/linux-aws<6.17.0-1009.9
6.17.0-1009.9
ubuntu/linux-azure<6.17.0-1010.10
6.17.0-1010.10
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde*
ubuntu/linux-gcp<6.17.0-1009.9
6.17.0-1009.9
ubuntu/linux-oracle<6.17.0-1009.9
6.17.0-1009.9
ubuntu/linux-raspi<6.17.0-1010.10
6.17.0-1010.10
ubuntu/linux-realtime<6.17.0-1008.9
6.17.0-1008.9
ubuntu/linux-riscv<6.17.0-19.19.1
6.17.0-19.19.1
ubuntu/linux-vmware*
debian/linux
6.1.176-16.1.190-16.12.107-16.12.116-17.2.15-17.3.4-1

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-aws-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1052.55~22.04.1
  2. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1059.65~22.04.1
  3. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1058.65~22.04.1
  4. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1054.57~22.04.1
  5. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-110.110~22.04.1
  6. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-ibm-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1051.51~22.04.1
  7. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-110.110.1~22.04.1
  8. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1051.54~22.04.1
  9. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1049.50~22.04.1
  10. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-riscv-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-110.110~22.04.1
  11. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-realtime-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.1-1047.48~22.04.1
  12. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-110.110
  13. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-aws to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1052.55
  14. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-aws-6.17 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-1009.9~24.04.2
  15. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1054.60
  16. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure-6.17 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-1010.10~24.04.1
  17. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure-fde to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1058.65
  18. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure-nvidia to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1039.42
  19. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gcp to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1054.57
  20. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.17 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-1009.9~24.04.3
  21. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gke to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1050.56
  22. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gkeop to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1037.40
  23. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.17 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-19.19~24.04.2
  24. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-ibm to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1051.51
  25. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-lowlatency to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-110.110.1
  26. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-nvidia to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1051.54
  27. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.17 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-1018.18
  28. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-nvidia-lowlatency to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1051.54.1
  29. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-nvidia-tegra to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1022.22
  30. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-oem-6.17 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-1017.17
  31. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-oracle to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1049.50
  32. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.17 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-1009.9~24.04.1
  33. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-raspi to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1052.56
  34. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-riscv-6.17 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-19.19.1~24.04.1
  35. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-xilinx to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1028.29
  36. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-bluefield to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1017.21
  37. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-raspi-realtime to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-2042.43
  38. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-realtime to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.1-1047.48
  39. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-realtime-6.17 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-1008.9~24.04.1
  40. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-aws-fips to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1052.55+fips1
  41. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure-fips to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1053.59+fips1
  42. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-fips to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-110.110+fips2
  43. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gcp-fips to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1054.57+fips1
  44. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-19.19
  45. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-aws to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-1009.9
  46. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-1010.10
  47. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gcp to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-1009.9
  48. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-oracle to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-1009.9
  49. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-raspi to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-1010.10
  50. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-realtime to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-1008.9
  51. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-riscv to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.17.0-19.19.1
  52. Upgrade

    Upgrade debian/linux to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.1.176-1Fixed in 6.1.190-1Fixed in 6.12.107-1Fixed in 6.12.116-1Fixed in 7.2.15-1Fixed in 7.3.4-1

Event History

Dec 16, 2025
CVE Published
via MITRE·02:45 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·02:45 PM
Description
Data Sourced
via OSV·03:15 PM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Data Sourced
via NVD·03:15 PM
Description
Dec 17, 2025
Data Sourced
via Microsoft·01:04 AM
DescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software

Parent advisories

This vulnerability appears in the following advisories.

Peer vulnerabilities

Found alongside the following vulnerabilities.

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2025-68259?

The severity of CVE-2025-68259 is classified as medium.

2

How do I fix CVE-2025-68259?

To fix CVE-2025-68259, update the Linux kernel to the latest patched version.

3

What systems are affected by CVE-2025-68259?

CVE-2025-68259 affects the Linux kernel, specifically systems using KVM with SVM.

4

What are the implications of CVE-2025-68259?

The implications include potential instability and incorrect execution of instructions under specific conditions.

5

Is CVE-2025-68259 actively exploited in the wild?

As of now, there is no evidence that CVE-2025-68259 is actively exploited in the wild.

Company

Resources

Contact

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