CVE-2026-23375

mm: thp: deny THP for files on anonymous inodes

Published Mar 25, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 5.5 Medium EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

mm: thp: deny THP for files on anonymous inodes

file_thp_enabled() incorrectly allows THP for files on anonymous inodes
(e.g. guest_memfd and secretmem). These files are created via
alloc_file_pseudo(), which does not call get_write_access() and leaves
inode->i_writecount at 0. Combined with S_ISREG(inode->i_mode) being
true, they appear as read-only regular files when
CONFIG_READ_ONLY_THP_FOR_FS is enabled, making them eligible for THP
collapse.

Anonymous inodes can never pass the inode_is_open_for_write() check
since their i_writecount is never incremented through the normal VFS
open path. The right thing to do is to exclude them from THP eligibility
altogether, since CONFIG_READ_ONLY_THP_FOR_FS was designed for real
filesystem files (e.g. shared libraries), not for pseudo-filesystem
inodes.

For guest_memfd, this allows khugepaged and MADV_COLLAPSE to create
large folios in the page cache via the collapse path, but the
guest_memfd fault handler does not support large folios. This triggers
WARN_ON_ONCE(folio_test_large(folio)) in kvm_gmem_fault_user_mapping().

For secretmem, collapse_file() tries to copy page contents through the
direct map, but secretmem pages are removed from the direct map. This
can result in a kernel crash:

BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffff88810284d000
RIP: 0010:memcpy_orig+0x16/0x130
Call Trace:
collapse_file
hpage_collapse_scan_file
madvise_collapse

Secretmem is not affected by the crash on upstream as the memory failure
recovery handles the failed copy gracefully, but it still triggers
confusing false memory failure reports:

Memory failure: 0x106d96f: recovery action for clean unevictable
LRU page: Recovered

Check IS_ANON_FILE(inode) in file_thp_enabled() to deny THP for all
anonymous inode files.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

Source ID Title
Debian DSA Debian DSA DSA-6238-1 linux security update
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8567-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8574-1 Linux kernel (GCP FIPS) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8574-2 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8595-1 Linux kernel (Oracle) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8596-1 Linux kernel (NVIDIA) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8595-2 Linux kernel (AWS) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8606-1 Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8607-1 Linux kernel (Azure CVM) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8608-1 Linux kernel (Azure FIPS) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8609-1 Linux kernel (Azure CVM) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8574-3 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8595-3 Linux kernel (AWS) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8619-1 Linux kernel (HWE) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8665-1 Linux kernel (Raspberry Pi) vulnerabilities
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-617
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.8:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:*
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.0, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-120
Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-825
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.0, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

threat_severity

Moderate

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-120
Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm: thp: deny THP for files on anonymous inodes file_thp_enabled() incorrectly allows THP for files on anonymous inodes (e.g. guest_memfd and secretmem). These files are created via alloc_file_pseudo(), which does not call get_write_access() and leaves inode->i_writecount at 0. Combined with S_ISREG(inode->i_mode) being true, they appear as read-only regular files when CONFIG_READ_ONLY_THP_FOR_FS is enabled, making them eligible for THP collapse. Anonymous inodes can never pass the inode_is_open_for_write() check since their i_writecount is never incremented through the normal VFS open path. The right thing to do is to exclude them from THP eligibility altogether, since CONFIG_READ_ONLY_THP_FOR_FS was designed for real filesystem files (e.g. shared libraries), not for pseudo-filesystem inodes. For guest_memfd, this allows khugepaged and MADV_COLLAPSE to create large folios in the page cache via the collapse path, but the guest_memfd fault handler does not support large folios. This triggers WARN_ON_ONCE(folio_test_large(folio)) in kvm_gmem_fault_user_mapping(). For secretmem, collapse_file() tries to copy page contents through the direct map, but secretmem pages are removed from the direct map. This can result in a kernel crash: BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffff88810284d000 RIP: 0010:memcpy_orig+0x16/0x130 Call Trace: collapse_file hpage_collapse_scan_file madvise_collapse Secretmem is not affected by the crash on upstream as the memory failure recovery handles the failed copy gracefully, but it still triggers confusing false memory failure reports: Memory failure: 0x106d96f: recovery action for clean unevictable LRU page: Recovered Check IS_ANON_FILE(inode) in file_thp_enabled() to deny THP for all anonymous inode files.
Title mm: thp: deny THP for files on anonymous inodes
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
References
Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
Linux
Published
Updated
May 11, 2026, 10:05 PM
Reserved
Jan 13, 2026, 3:37 PM
Status
Analyzed
Published
Mar 25, 2026, 11:16 AM
Modified
Jun 17, 2026, 10:21 AM
Severity
Moderate
Public date
Mar 25, 2026, 12:00 AM