Description
On Xtensa targets with CONFIG_USERSPACE and CONFIG_XTENSA_MMU, the page-table code (arch/xtensa/core/ptables.c) maintains a global list, xtensa_domain_list, of active memory domains using a list node embedded inside the caller-owned struct k_mem_domain. When a domain is destroyed via k_mem_domain_deinit() - arch_mem_domain_deinit(), the page tables are torn down and domain-arch.ptables is set to NULL, but the domain's node was not removed from xtensa_domain_list. The freed/deinitialized domain therefore remained linked into the global list as a dangling pointer into caller-owned storage that may then be freed or reused. Any subsequent arch_mem_map()/arch_mem_unmap() operation (widely invoked by kernel memory-mapping and demand-paging code) traverses the stale node and dereferences domain-ptables: at minimum a NULL pointer dereference causing a fatal MMU exception (denial of service), and if the k_mem_domain storage has been freed or reused, a use-after-free in which a stale/controlled ptables value is dereferenced and written through during the page-table walk (l2_page_table_map writes l1_table[...] and l2_table[...], and xtensa_mmu_compute_domain_regs writes into the domain struct and the L1 table), yielding page-table memory corruption that can undermine userspace isolation. The vulnerable path is reachable only from privileged kernel/supervisor code (k_mem_domain_deinit is not a syscall), not directly from unprivileged user threads or remotely. Affected: Zephyr v4.4.0 (the Xtensa memory-domain de-initialization feature was introduced in commit 3032b58f52d and first shipped in v4.4.0); fixed on main by adding sys_slist_find_and_remove() in arch_mem_domain_deinit(). The Xtensa MPU path is unaffected.
Published: 2026-06-16
Score: 6.3 Medium
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
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History

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 14:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Tue, 16 Jun 2026 08:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Zephyrproject
Zephyrproject zephyr
Vendors & Products Zephyrproject
Zephyrproject zephyr

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 06:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description On Xtensa targets with CONFIG_USERSPACE and CONFIG_XTENSA_MMU, the page-table code (arch/xtensa/core/ptables.c) maintains a global list, xtensa_domain_list, of active memory domains using a list node embedded inside the caller-owned struct k_mem_domain. When a domain is destroyed via k_mem_domain_deinit() - arch_mem_domain_deinit(), the page tables are torn down and domain-arch.ptables is set to NULL, but the domain's node was not removed from xtensa_domain_list. The freed/deinitialized domain therefore remained linked into the global list as a dangling pointer into caller-owned storage that may then be freed or reused. Any subsequent arch_mem_map()/arch_mem_unmap() operation (widely invoked by kernel memory-mapping and demand-paging code) traverses the stale node and dereferences domain-ptables: at minimum a NULL pointer dereference causing a fatal MMU exception (denial of service), and if the k_mem_domain storage has been freed or reused, a use-after-free in which a stale/controlled ptables value is dereferenced and written through during the page-table walk (l2_page_table_map writes l1_table[...] and l2_table[...], and xtensa_mmu_compute_domain_regs writes into the domain struct and the L1 table), yielding page-table memory corruption that can undermine userspace isolation. The vulnerable path is reachable only from privileged kernel/supervisor code (k_mem_domain_deinit is not a syscall), not directly from unprivileged user threads or remotely. Affected: Zephyr v4.4.0 (the Xtensa memory-domain de-initialization feature was introduced in commit 3032b58f52d and first shipped in v4.4.0); fixed on main by adding sys_slist_find_and_remove() in arch_mem_domain_deinit(). The Xtensa MPU path is unaffected.
Title Dangling memory-domain pointer (use-after-free) in Xtensa MMU page-table code on memory-domain de-init
Weaknesses CWE-416
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 6.3, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:H'}


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Zephyrproject Zephyr
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: zephyr

Published:

Updated: 2026-06-16T13:47:16.733Z

Reserved: 2026-06-02T15:10:51.941Z

Link: CVE-2026-10635

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-06-16T13:47:10.679Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Awaiting Analysis

Published: 2026-06-16T06:16:57.770

Modified: 2026-06-16T15:23:42.240

Link: CVE-2026-10635

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-06-16T08:30:03Z

Weaknesses