CVE-2025-40304: fbdev: Add bounds checking in bit_putcs to fix vmalloc-out-of-bounds

Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.1% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2025-12-08 · updated 2026-10-14

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fbdev: Add bounds checking in bit_putcs to fix vmalloc-out-of-bounds Add bounds checking to prevent writes past framebuffer boundaries when rendering text near screen edges. Return early if the Y position is off-screen and clip image height to screen boundary. Break from the rendering loop if the X position is off-screen. When clipping image width to fit the screen, update the character count to match the clipped width to prevent buffer size mismatches. Without the character count update, bit_putcs_aligned and bit_putcs_unaligned receive mismatched parameters where the buffer is allocated for the clipped width but cnt reflects the original larger count, causing out-of-bounds writes.

Affected products

Linux kernel: 2.6.12 — fixed in 6.18

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 6.18. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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