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

mm: shrinker: fix shrinker_info teardown race with expansion

expand_shrinker_info() iterates all visible memcgs under shrinker_mutex,
including memcgs that have not finished ->css_online() yet.

Once pn->shrinker_info has been published, teardown must stay serialized
with expand_shrinker_info() until that memcg is either fully online or no
longer visible to iteration. Today alloc_shrinker_info() breaks that rule
by dropping shrinker_mutex before freeing a partially initialized
shrinker_info array, which may cause the following race:

CPU0 CPU1
==== ====

css_create
--> list_add_tail_rcu(&css->sibling, &parent_css->children);
online_css
--> mem_cgroup_css_online
--> alloc_shrinker_info
--> alloc node0 info
rcu_assign_pointer(C->node0->shrinker_info, old0)
alloc node1 info -> FAIL -> goto err
mutex_unlock(shrinker_mutex)

shrinker_alloc()
--> shrinker_memcg_alloc
--> mutex_lock(shrinker_mutex)
expand_shrinker_info
--> mem_cgroup_iter see the memcg
expand_one_shrinker_info
--> old0 = C->node0->shrinker_info
memcpy(new->unit, old0->unit, ...);

free_shrinker_info
--> kvfree(old0);

/* double free !! */
kvfree_rcu(old0, rcu);

The same problem exists later in mem_cgroup_css_online(). If
alloc_shrinker_info() succeeds but a subsequent objcg allocation fails,
the free_objcg -> free_shrinker_info() unwind path tears down the already
published pn->shrinker_info arrays without shrinker_mutex. The
expand_one_shrinker_info() can race with that teardown in the same way,
leading to use-after-free or double-free of the old shrinker_info.

Fix this by serializing shrinker_info teardown with shrinker_mutex, and by
keeping alloc_shrinker_info() error cleanup inside the locked section.
Published: 2026-07-25
Score: n/a
EPSS: n/a
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
AI Analysis

No analysis available yet.

Remediation

No remediation available yet.

Tracking

Sign in to view the affected projects.

Advisories

No advisories yet.

History

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 09:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm: shrinker: fix shrinker_info teardown race with expansion expand_shrinker_info() iterates all visible memcgs under shrinker_mutex, including memcgs that have not finished ->css_online() yet. Once pn->shrinker_info has been published, teardown must stay serialized with expand_shrinker_info() until that memcg is either fully online or no longer visible to iteration. Today alloc_shrinker_info() breaks that rule by dropping shrinker_mutex before freeing a partially initialized shrinker_info array, which may cause the following race: CPU0 CPU1 ==== ==== css_create --> list_add_tail_rcu(&css->sibling, &parent_css->children); online_css --> mem_cgroup_css_online --> alloc_shrinker_info --> alloc node0 info rcu_assign_pointer(C->node0->shrinker_info, old0) alloc node1 info -> FAIL -> goto err mutex_unlock(shrinker_mutex) shrinker_alloc() --> shrinker_memcg_alloc --> mutex_lock(shrinker_mutex) expand_shrinker_info --> mem_cgroup_iter see the memcg expand_one_shrinker_info --> old0 = C->node0->shrinker_info memcpy(new->unit, old0->unit, ...); free_shrinker_info --> kvfree(old0); /* double free !! */ kvfree_rcu(old0, rcu); The same problem exists later in mem_cgroup_css_online(). If alloc_shrinker_info() succeeds but a subsequent objcg allocation fails, the free_objcg -> free_shrinker_info() unwind path tears down the already published pn->shrinker_info arrays without shrinker_mutex. The expand_one_shrinker_info() can race with that teardown in the same way, leading to use-after-free or double-free of the old shrinker_info. Fix this by serializing shrinker_info teardown with shrinker_mutex, and by keeping alloc_shrinker_info() error cleanup inside the locked section.
Title mm: shrinker: fix shrinker_info teardown race with expansion
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: 2026-07-25T08:50:57.594Z

Reserved: 2026-07-19T15:36:31.786Z

Link: CVE-2026-64418

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

No data.

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

No data.

Weaknesses

No weakness.