CVE-2026-74599
mm/ptdump: always stabilise against page table freeing using init_mm
Published Aug 22, 2026
CVSS 3.1 · 5.5 Medium
EPSS < 1%
KEV · Not listed
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
mm/ptdump: always stabilise against page table freeing using init_mm
Previous commits have established the invariant that kernel page table
freeing is performed while an mmap read lock on init_mm is held, which
fixes races between ptdump and kernel page table freeing over init_mm.
However, x86 and arm64 can perform a ptdump over an mm other than init_mm
via ptdump_walk_pgd() and since kernel memory ranges are shared across
non-kernel mm's, this means that the race still exists for these cases.
Fix this by acquiring a nested mmap write lock for init_mm in
ptdump_walk_pgd().
This is safe as we take this after mmap write locking the mm, and nothing
acquires the init_mm lock first before locking an arbitrary mm, so no
deadlock is possible.
Also update walk_page_range_debug() to assert that init_mm is write
locked, add a comment explaining why and remove some redundant code, and
eliminate the unnecessary and confusing invocation of
walk_kernel_page_table_range().
We can safely remove the non-NULL check for walk.mm, as the mmap lock
asserts would NULL pointer deref if it was (and of course no callers do
this).
The first point at which ptdump can race kernel page table freeing is
commit b6bdb7517c3d ("mm/vmalloc: add interfaces to free unmapped page
table"), so we target this in the Fixes tag.
mm/ptdump: always stabilise against page table freeing using init_mm
Previous commits have established the invariant that kernel page table
freeing is performed while an mmap read lock on init_mm is held, which
fixes races between ptdump and kernel page table freeing over init_mm.
However, x86 and arm64 can perform a ptdump over an mm other than init_mm
via ptdump_walk_pgd() and since kernel memory ranges are shared across
non-kernel mm's, this means that the race still exists for these cases.
Fix this by acquiring a nested mmap write lock for init_mm in
ptdump_walk_pgd().
This is safe as we take this after mmap write locking the mm, and nothing
acquires the init_mm lock first before locking an arbitrary mm, so no
deadlock is possible.
Also update walk_page_range_debug() to assert that init_mm is write
locked, add a comment explaining why and remove some redundant code, and
eliminate the unnecessary and confusing invocation of
walk_kernel_page_table_range().
We can safely remove the non-NULL check for walk.mm, as the mmap lock
asserts would NULL pointer deref if it was (and of course no callers do
this).
The first point at which ptdump can race kernel page table freeing is
commit b6bdb7517c3d ("mm/vmalloc: add interfaces to free unmapped page
table"), so we target this in the Fixes tag.
Affected Products
-
CVE record
-
NVD configurations
No data
-
Red Hat packages
No data
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OpenCVE enrichment
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
| Vendor | Product | Default status | Versions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | unaffected |
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| Linux | Linux | affected |
|
No data.
No data.
| Vendor | Product | Versions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux Kernel |
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| Linux | Linux Kernel |
|
Remediation
Tracking
Advisories
| Source | ID | Title |
|---|---|---|
 Debian DLA |
DLA-4788-1 | linux-6.12 security update |
 Debian DSA |
DSA-6466-1 | linux security update |
 Ubuntu USN |
USN-8961-1 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
| Ubuntu USN |
USN-9019-1 | Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities |
| Ubuntu USN |
USN-9020-1 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
| Ubuntu USN |
USN-9022-1 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
| Ubuntu USN |
USN-9023-1 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
| Ubuntu USN |
USN-9024-1 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
| Ubuntu USN |
USN-9025-1 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
| Ubuntu USN |
USN-9026-1 | Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities |
| Ubuntu USN |
USN-9029-1 | Linux kernel (Raspberry Pi) vulnerabilities |
| Ubuntu USN |
USN-9039-1 | Linux kernel (Azure CVM) vulnerabilities |
| Ubuntu USN |
USN-9040-1 | Linux kernel (Low Latency NVIDIA) vulnerabilities |
| Ubuntu USN |
USN-9066-1 | Linux kernel (HWE) vulnerabilities |
| Ubuntu USN |
USN-9091-1 | Linux kernel (NVIDIA Tegra) vulnerabilities |
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0
Attack Vector Local
Attack Complexity Low
Privileges Required Low
Scope Unchanged
Confidentiality Impact None
Integrity Impact None
Availability Impact High
User Interaction None
No CVSS v3.0
No CVSS v2
This CVE is not in the KEV list.
Exploit prediction score: < 1% (0.177% probability within 30 days)
Exploitation none
Automatable no
Technical Impact partial
References
History
Nov 7, 2026 7:30 AM
Scoring metrics updated
View changes
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Metrics |
ssvc
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Oct 30, 2026 12:45 PM
Added references
View changes
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| References |
|
Aug 24, 2026 12:15 PM
Weaknesses updated. Added references. Scoring metrics updated
View changes
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Weaknesses | CWE-413 | |
| References |
| |
| Metrics |
threat_severity
|
cvssV3_1
|
Aug 23, 2026 1:15 PM
Added references
View changes
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| References |
|
Aug 22, 2026 4:45 PM
Weaknesses updated
View changes
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Weaknesses | CWE-479 |
Aug 22, 2026 3:45 PM
Description updated. Title updated. First appearance in the feed. Affected versions updated. Affected vendors updated. Added references
View changes
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/ptdump: always stabilise against page table freeing using init_mm Previous commits have established the invariant that kernel page table freeing is performed while an mmap read lock on init_mm is held, which fixes races between ptdump and kernel page table freeing over init_mm. However, x86 and arm64 can perform a ptdump over an mm other than init_mm via ptdump_walk_pgd() and since kernel memory ranges are shared across non-kernel mm's, this means that the race still exists for these cases. Fix this by acquiring a nested mmap write lock for init_mm in ptdump_walk_pgd(). This is safe as we take this after mmap write locking the mm, and nothing acquires the init_mm lock first before locking an arbitrary mm, so no deadlock is possible. Also update walk_page_range_debug() to assert that init_mm is write locked, add a comment explaining why and remove some redundant code, and eliminate the unnecessary and confusing invocation of walk_kernel_page_table_range(). We can safely remove the non-NULL check for walk.mm, as the mmap lock asserts would NULL pointer deref if it was (and of course no callers do this). The first point at which ptdump can race kernel page table freeing is commit b6bdb7517c3d ("mm/vmalloc: add interfaces to free unmapped page table"), so we target this in the Fixes tag. | |
| Title | mm/ptdump: always stabilise against page table freeing using init_mm | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
