Linux hwe edge: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: hung_task: fix warnings caused by unaligned lock pointers The blocker tracking… (CVE-2025-68250)
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: hung_task: fix warnings caused by unaligned lock pointers The blocker tracking mechanism assumes that lock pointers are at least 4-byte aligned to use their lower bits for type encoding. However, as reported by Eero Tamminen, some architectures like m68k only guarantee 2-byte alignment of 32-bit values. This breaks the assumption and causes two related WARN_ON_ONCE checks to trigger. To fix this, the runtime checks are adjusted to silently ignore any lock that is not 4-byte aligned, effectively disabling the feature in such cases and avoiding the related warnings. Thanks to Geert Uytterhoeven for bisecting!
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
The Linux kernel's hung_task blocker tracking mechanism assumed lock pointers are at least 4-byte aligned to encode type information in their lower bits. On architectures such as m68k, which only guarantee 2-byte alignment for 32-bit values, this assumption fails, triggering WARN_ON_ONCE checks. The vulnerability was addressed by modifying the runtime checks to silently ignore locks that are not 4-byte aligned, effectively disabling the feature in those cases and preventing related warnings.
Potential Impact
This vulnerability causes warnings and potential instability in the kernel on affected architectures due to incorrect assumptions about lock pointer alignment. The impact is limited to causing warnings and disabling a feature rather than direct compromise of confidentiality or integrity. The CVSS vector indicates low confidentiality impact, no integrity impact, but high availability impact due to potential kernel instability.
Mitigation Recommendations
A fix has been implemented in the Linux kernel that adjusts runtime checks to ignore unaligned lock pointers, preventing the warnings and related issues. Users should apply the official kernel updates containing this fix when available. Patch status is not explicitly confirmed here; check the Linux kernel vendor advisory for the current remediation guidance.
Linux hwe edge: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: hung_task: fix warnings caused by unaligned lock pointers The blocker tracking… (CVE-2025-68250)
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: hung_task: fix warnings caused by unaligned lock pointers The blocker tracking mechanism assumes that lock pointers are at least 4-byte aligned to use their lower bits for type encoding. However, as reported by Eero Tamminen, some architectures like m68k only guarantee 2-byte alignment of 32-bit values. This breaks the assumption and causes two related WARN_ON_ONCE checks to trigger. To fix this, the runtime checks are adjusted to silently ignore any lock that is not 4-byte aligned, effectively disabling the feature in such cases and avoiding the related warnings. Thanks to Geert Uytterhoeven for bisecting!
CVSS v3.1
Score 8.2high
Affected software
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
The Linux kernel's hung_task blocker tracking mechanism assumed lock pointers are at least 4-byte aligned to encode type information in their lower bits. On architectures such as m68k, which only guarantee 2-byte alignment for 32-bit values, this assumption fails, triggering WARN_ON_ONCE checks. The vulnerability was addressed by modifying the runtime checks to silently ignore locks that are not 4-byte aligned, effectively disabling the feature in those cases and preventing related warnings.
Potential Impact
This vulnerability causes warnings and potential instability in the kernel on affected architectures due to incorrect assumptions about lock pointer alignment. The impact is limited to causing warnings and disabling a feature rather than direct compromise of confidentiality or integrity. The CVSS vector indicates low confidentiality impact, no integrity impact, but high availability impact due to potential kernel instability.
Mitigation Recommendations
A fix has been implemented in the Linux kernel that adjusts runtime checks to ignore unaligned lock pointers, preventing the warnings and related issues. Users should apply the official kernel updates containing this fix when available. Patch status is not explicitly confirmed here; check the Linux kernel vendor advisory for the current remediation guidance.
Technical Details
- Gcve Source
- db.gcve.eu
- Osv Id
- GHSA-pxw3-4w95-6fmq
- Osv Schema Version
- 1.4.0
- Aliases
- ["CVE-2025-68250"]
- Database Specific Severity
- HIGH
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
Threat ID: 6a6b72d39c2644c7f84782f5
Added to database: 07/30/2026, 15:50:43 UTC
Last enriched: 07/30/2026, 18:38:49 UTC
Last updated: 09/10/2026, 19:36:51 UTC
Views: 10
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