HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2020-25221
HIGH

CVE-2020-25221

CWE-672Published: September 10, 2020· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

7.8
CVSS v3.1

Official Description

get_gate_page in mm/gup.c in the Linux kernel 5.7.x and 5.8.x before 5.8.7 allows privilege escalation because of incorrect reference counting (caused by gate page mishandling) of the struct page that backs the vsyscall page. The result is a refcount underflow. This can be triggered by any 64-bit process that can use ptrace() or process_vm_readv(), aka CID-9fa2dd946743.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2020-25221 requires local access, meaning attackers must already have a foothold on the target system.

Exploitation requires low privileges, which limits the exposure to scenarios where an attacker has already gained initial access.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 7.8.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability
Attack VectorLocal
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges Req.Low
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
Impact
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected Vendors & Products

Linux1 product(s)
linux kernel
netapp5 product(s)
cloud backupsolidfire\, enterprise sds \& hci storage nodesolidfire \& hci management nodehci compute nodesolidfire baseboard management controller
Source: NVD CPE · 6 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
Exploit-DB
Offensive Security exploit database
GitHub PoC Search
Community PoC repositories
Rapid7 / Metasploit
Metasploit module search
PacketStorm
Security advisories & exploits
NVD Detail
Official NIST entry
MITRE CVE
CVE Program entry
External links open in a new tab. Always verify in a controlled environment before use.

Official Patches & Advisories

PATCHhttps://git.kernel.org/linus/8891adc61dce2a8a41fc0c23262b681c3ec4b73a
PATCHhttps://git.kernel.org/linus/9fa2dd946743ae6f30dc4830da19147bf100a7f2
PATCHhttps://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/09/08/4
PATCHhttps://git.kernel.org/linus/8891adc61dce2a8a41fc0c23262b681c3ec4b73a
PATCHhttps://git.kernel.org/linus/9fa2dd946743ae6f30dc4830da19147bf100a7f2
PATCHhttps://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/09/08/4
ADVISORYhttp://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/09/10/4
ADVISORYhttps://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/ChangeLog-5.8.7
ADVISORYhttps://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20201001-0003/
ADVISORYhttp://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/09/10/4
ADVISORYhttps://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/ChangeLog-5.8.7
ADVISORYhttps://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20201001-0003/

All References (12)

→
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/09/10/4Mailing List · Third Party Advisory
→
https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/ChangeLog-5.8.7Release Notes · Vendor Advisory
→
https://git.kernel.org/linus/8891adc61dce2a8a41fc0c23262b681c3ec4b73aIssue Tracking · Patch · Vendor Advisory
→
https://git.kernel.org/linus/9fa2dd946743ae6f30dc4830da19147bf100a7f2Issue Tracking · Patch · Vendor Advisory
→
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20201001-0003/Third Party Advisory
→
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/09/08/4Mailing List · Patch · Third Party Advisory
→
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/09/10/4Mailing List · Third Party Advisory
→
https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/ChangeLog-5.8.7Release Notes · Vendor Advisory
→
https://git.kernel.org/linus/8891adc61dce2a8a41fc0c23262b681c3ec4b73aIssue Tracking · Patch · Vendor Advisory
→
https://git.kernel.org/linus/9fa2dd946743ae6f30dc4830da19147bf100a7f2Issue Tracking · Patch · Vendor Advisory
→
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20201001-0003/Third Party Advisory
→
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/09/08/4Mailing List · Patch · Third Party Advisory

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2020-25221
CVSS Score7.8 / 10
SeverityHIGH
WeaknessCWE-672
CISA KEVNo
Affected2 vendor(s)
PublishedSep 10, 2020

Related CVEs (CWE-672)

CVE-2026-43585
9.8
CVE-2024-47571
9.8
CVE-2020-12043
9.8
CVE-2020-24030
9.8
CVE-2019-17638
9.4
CVE-2013-10075
9.1

Recommended Actions

  • →Apply vendor patches immediately
  • →Monitor CVE-2020-25221 in threat intel feeds
  • →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts
Data sourced from NVD (NIST), CISA KEV, and EPSS (FIRST). Analysis generated by CTIWatch. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.
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