Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

sched/mmcid: Fix OOB clear_bit when CID is MM_CID_UNSET in fixup path

In mm_cid_fixup_cpus_to_tasks(), when rq->curr has the target mm and
mm_cid.active is set, the CID is checked with cid_in_transit() before
setting the transition bit. In per-CPU mode a newly forked or exec'd
task can be running with mm_cid.cid == MM_CID_UNSET because CIDs are
assigned lazily on schedule-in. With cid_in_transit() the guard passes
for MM_CID_UNSET (no transit bit), converts it to MM_CID_UNSET |
MM_CID_TRANSIT and stores it back; later mm_cid_schedout() feeds this
to clear_bit() with MM_CID_UNSET as the bit number, triggering an
out-of-bounds write.

Symptoms: this is genuine memory corruption, but a bounded out-of-bounds
write, not an arbitrary one. MM_CID_UNSET is the fixed sentinel BIT(31),
so once the bad value reaches mm_cid_schedout() the cid_from_transit_cid()
strip leaves MM_CID_UNSET, which fails the "cid < max_cids" convergence
test and falls into mm_drop_cid() -> clear_bit(MM_CID_UNSET,
mm_cidmask(mm)). The cid bitmap is embedded in the mm_struct slab object
(after cpu_bitmap and mm_cpus_allowed) and is only num_possible_cpus()
bits wide, so clearing bit 31 is a deterministic OOB bit-clear at a
fixed offset of 2^31 / 8 == 256 MiB past the bitmap base. The address is
not attacker-influenced (fixed sentinel -> fixed offset) and the op only
clears a single bit; what sits 256 MiB further along the direct map is
whatever kernel object happens to live there, so this corrupts one bit of
unpredictable kernel memory -- it is not an arbitrary-address or
arbitrary-value write.

It triggers only in per-CPU CID mode, when a CPU is running an active
task of the target mm whose cid is still MM_CID_UNSET -- the
fork()/execve() window before that task's next schedule-in assigns it a
real CID -- and a per-CPU -> per-task fixup walks over it (the mode
fallback driven by a thread exit, sched_mm_cid_exit(), or by the deferred
max_cids recompute in mm_cid_work_fn()).

In practice syzkaller surfaced it as a KASAN use-after-free reported in
__schedule -> mm_cid_switch_to, where the offending clear_bit() is inlined
via mm_cid_schedout() -> mm_drop_cid().

Guard the transition-bit assignment against MM_CID_UNSET, in addition to
the existing cid_in_transit() check, so the bit is only set on a genuine
task-owned CID. A CPU-owned (MM_CID_ONCPU) CID of a running active task
is handled by the cid_on_cpu(pcp->cid) branch above and never reaches
this path, so excluding MM_CID_UNSET (and the already-transitioning case)
is sufficient.
Published: 2026-07-19
Score: 7.8 High
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
AI Analysis

Impact

An out‑of‑bounds bit clear occurs when the kernel attempts to clear the MM CID bit numbered MM_CID_UNSET (bit 31) during a CPU‑to‑task fixup path. The write is deterministic and non‑arbitrary, targeting a fixed offset 256 MiB beyond the bitmap inside the mm_struct object. This corrupts a single bit of unpredictable kernel memory, potentially affecting any object located at that fixed offset and leading to kernel instability or privilege escalation. The weakness is an out‑of‑bounds write (CWE‑787). The vulnerability carries a CVSS score of 7.8, indicating substantial impact if exploited.

Affected Systems

All Linux kernel versions that use per‑CPU CID mode are affected. The fix applied in the latest kernel updates removes the out‑of‑bounds write path. No specific product to any kernel running the impacted code path until updated.

Risk and Exploitability

Based on the description, it is inferred that the attack vector requires local privileged access to create a process that triggers the OOB clear_bit during a per‑CPU CID mode task schedule‑in. The vulnerability is local and causes a deterministic out‑of‑bounds bit clear at a fixed mm_struct bitmap. Exploitation would corrupt a single bit of unpredictable kernel memory, potentially leading to kernel instability or privilege escalation. The EPSS score is below 1 % and the issue is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog, implying a low current exploitation probability. Despite this, the high CVSS score (7.8) and potential for kernel memory corruption warrant prompt patching.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC.

Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

  • Upgrade the Linux kernel to a version that includes the patch for the MM_CID OOB clear_bit vulnerability.
  • Reboot the system to load the updated kernel and ensure the fix is active.
  • If an upgrade is not immediately possible, limit or disable per‑CPU CID mode by disabling the associated kernel configuration option or applying runtime mitigations that prevent the faulting code path from executing until a reliable CID is assigned.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC.

Tracking

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Advisories

No advisories yet.

History

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 00:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-787
References

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 14:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

Sun, 19 Jul 2026 12:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sched/mmcid: Fix OOB clear_bit when CID is MM_CID_UNSET in fixup path In mm_cid_fixup_cpus_to_tasks(), when rq->curr has the target mm and mm_cid.active is set, the CID is checked with cid_in_transit() before setting the transition bit. In per-CPU mode a newly forked or exec'd task can be running with mm_cid.cid == MM_CID_UNSET because CIDs are assigned lazily on schedule-in. With cid_in_transit() the guard passes for MM_CID_UNSET (no transit bit), converts it to MM_CID_UNSET | MM_CID_TRANSIT and stores it back; later mm_cid_schedout() feeds this to clear_bit() with MM_CID_UNSET as the bit number, triggering an out-of-bounds write. Symptoms: this is genuine memory corruption, but a bounded out-of-bounds write, not an arbitrary one. MM_CID_UNSET is the fixed sentinel BIT(31), so once the bad value reaches mm_cid_schedout() the cid_from_transit_cid() strip leaves MM_CID_UNSET, which fails the "cid < max_cids" convergence test and falls into mm_drop_cid() -> clear_bit(MM_CID_UNSET, mm_cidmask(mm)). The cid bitmap is embedded in the mm_struct slab object (after cpu_bitmap and mm_cpus_allowed) and is only num_possible_cpus() bits wide, so clearing bit 31 is a deterministic OOB bit-clear at a fixed offset of 2^31 / 8 == 256 MiB past the bitmap base. The address is not attacker-influenced (fixed sentinel -> fixed offset) and the op only clears a single bit; what sits 256 MiB further along the direct map is whatever kernel object happens to live there, so this corrupts one bit of unpredictable kernel memory -- it is not an arbitrary-address or arbitrary-value write. It triggers only in per-CPU CID mode, when a CPU is running an active task of the target mm whose cid is still MM_CID_UNSET -- the fork()/execve() window before that task's next schedule-in assigns it a real CID -- and a per-CPU -> per-task fixup walks over it (the mode fallback driven by a thread exit, sched_mm_cid_exit(), or by the deferred max_cids recompute in mm_cid_work_fn()). In practice syzkaller surfaced it as a KASAN use-after-free reported in __schedule -> mm_cid_switch_to, where the offending clear_bit() is inlined via mm_cid_schedout() -> mm_drop_cid(). Guard the transition-bit assignment against MM_CID_UNSET, in addition to the existing cid_in_transit() check, so the bit is only set on a genuine task-owned CID. A CPU-owned (MM_CID_ONCPU) CID of a running active task is handled by the cid_on_cpu(pcp->cid) branch above and never reaches this path, so excluding MM_CID_UNSET (and the already-transitioning case) is sufficient.
Title sched/mmcid: Fix OOB clear_bit when CID is MM_CID_UNSET in fixup path
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
References

Subscriptions

Linux Linux Kernel
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Linux

Published:

Updated: 2026-08-05T12:35:47.365Z

Reserved: 2026-07-19T07:54:57.013Z

Link: CVE-2026-63799

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

No data.

cve-icon Redhat

Severity :

Publid Date: 2026-07-19T00:00:00Z

Links: CVE-2026-63799 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-07-30T22:30:06Z

Weaknesses