CVE-2026-89754

mm/pagewalk: fix stale walk->action escaping walk_pmd_range()

Published Sep 11, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 7.8 High EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed

Description

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

mm/pagewalk: fix stale walk->action escaping walk_pmd_range()

If ->pmd_entry() sets walk->action = ACTION_AGAIN, the pmd_none() check is
retried. The PMD entry may be cleared at the point of retry.

In this case, if walk->ops->install_pte is not specified, the code
continues to the next PMD entry in the range without resetting
walk->action to ACTION_SUBTREE.

This leaves walk->action erroneously set to ACTION_AGAIN, which is
incorrect.

This was incorrect but not problematic up until commit 3b89863c3fa4
("mm/pagewalk: fix race between concurrent split and refault") which
updated walk_pud_range() to check for walk->action == ACTION_AGAIN upon
walk_pmd_range()'s return, causing the PUD walk to be retried.

In this case this results in duplicate walk callbacks being invoked,
which is erroneous and will break any caller that is not idempotent
with respect to this (and waste time for those which are). The result
is an out-of-bounds write, triggered by a local fuzzer:

[ 2.272695] ==================================================================
[ 2.273471] BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in __mincore_unmapped_range+0x14f/0x190
[ 2.274302] Write of size 1 at addr ffff888008d9b000 by task poc/106
[ 2.274966]
[ 2.275154] CPU: 0 UID: 1000 PID: 106 Comm: poc Not tainted 7.2.0-rc6-00429-ga7c7074b58d2 #55 PREEMPT(lazy)
[ 2.275159] Hardware name: QEMU Ubuntu 24.04 PC v2 (i440FX + PIIX, arch_caps fix, 1996), BIOS 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2 04/01/2014
[ 2.275164] Call Trace:
[ 2.275170] <TASK>
[ 2.275172] dump_stack_lvl+0x53/0x70
[ 2.275200] print_report+0xd0/0x630
[ 2.275210] ? __pfx__raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x10/0x10
[ 2.275219] ? irqentry_exit+0xd2/0x670
[ 2.275224] ? irqentry_exit+0xd2/0x670
[ 2.275226] ? __virt_addr_valid+0xef/0x1a0
[ 2.275239] ? __mincore_unmapped_range+0x14f/0x190
[ 2.275242] kasan_report+0xce/0x100
[ 2.275245] ? __mincore_unmapped_range+0x14f/0x190
[ 2.275248] __mincore_unmapped_range+0x14f/0x190
[ 2.275252] mincore_unmapped_range+0x45/0x70
[ 2.275254] walk_pgd_range+0xafc/0xfc0
[ 2.275261] ? __pfx_walk_pgd_range+0x10/0x10
[ 2.275264] ? __update_load_avg_se+0x3d1/0x670
[ 2.275275] __walk_page_range+0xc0/0x310
[ 2.275278] ? __pfx_find_vma+0x10/0x10
[ 2.275281] ? finish_task_switch.isra.0+0x16d/0x4f0
[ 2.275290] walk_page_range_mm_unsafe+0x26f/0x3a0
[ 2.275293] ? __pfx_mtree_load+0x10/0x10
[ 2.275298] ? __pfx_walk_page_range_mm_unsafe+0x10/0x10
[ 2.275302] ? __free_frozen_pages+0x54d/0x7e0
[ 2.275308] __do_sys_mincore+0x132/0x380
[ 2.275311] do_syscall_64+0xf9/0x540
[ 2.275316] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f
[ 2.275322] RIP: 0033:0x422ccd
[ 2.275326] Code: b3 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 66 90 f3 0f 1e fa 48 89 f8 48 89 f7 48 89 d6 48 89 ca 4d 89 c2 4d 89 c8 4c 8b 4c 24 08 0f 05 <48> 3d 01 f0 ff ff 73 01 c3 48 c7 c1 b8 ff ff ff f7 d8 64 89 01 48
[ 2.275329] RSP: 002b:00007fffffffec18 EFLAGS: 00000287 ORIG_RAX: 000000000000001b
[ 2.275337] RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 0000000000000066 RCX: 0000000000422ccd
[ 2.275339] RDX: 00000000004d0940 RSI: 0000000001000000 RDI: 00007ffff4000000
[ 2.275340] RBP: 00000000004d0940 R08: 0000000000000100 R09: 0000000000000100
[ 2.275342] R10: 0000000000000100 R11: 0000000000000287 R12: 20c49ba5e353f7cf
[ 2.275343] R13: 00000000004990d3 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: 0000000000000001
[ 2.275346] </TASK>
[ 2.275347]
[ 2.296904] The buggy address belongs to the object at ffff888008d9b000
[ 2.296904] which belongs to the cache sigqueue of size 80
[ 2.298151] The buggy address is located 0 bytes inside of
[ 2.298151] allocated 80-byte region [ffff888008d9b000, ffff888008d9b050)
[ 2.299408]
[ 2.299601] The buggy address belongs to the physical page:
[ 2.300191] page: refcount:0 mapcount:0 mapping:0000000000000000 index:0x0 pfn:0x8d9b
---truncated---

Analysis

Technical impact

The vulnerability resides in the Linux kernel’s mm/pagewalk module. A stale walk->action value of ACTION_AGAIN can persist during a split or refault and, when walk_pmd_range() re‑enters, it incorrectly retries the PMD in an triggers an out‑of‑bounds write in __mincore_unmapped_range(). The flaw is a bounds‑write weakness (CWE‑787) exercised by privileged kernel code, as described.

Affected Systems

Any Linux kernel build that contains the upstream source prior to the patch that fixes walk_pmd_range() handling is vulnerable. The fix is introduced in commit 895cd4ecbb2e03d7583103c65ee5adaae126ed6d or later; kernels lacking that commit – i.e., versions before the patch – are at risk; kernels updated after that commit are considered safe.

Risk and Exploitability

The CVSS score of 7.8 indicates high severity. EPSS indicates a very low probability of exploitation, with an EPSS of < 1%. The issue is not listed in CISA’s KEV catalog,. The CVE description does not specify an exploitation scenario or attacker privilege level, but the vulnerability involves privileged kernel code. The overall risk for hosts running unpatched kernels remains.

Affected Products

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

unaffected

Version	Status	Constraints
`38ec58670a0c5fc1edabdeccd857e586b7b3f318`	affected	< 895cd4ecbb2e03d7583103c65ee5adaae126ed6d
`3b89863c3fa482912911cd65a12a3aeef662c250`	affected	< c05cdc2ab365b98099386e6c166b9865a4f2a9d3
`3b89863c3fa482912911cd65a12a3aeef662c250`	affected	< aedf2efd18977e0cef7eb963166e2b1fcc0aa321
`9bbbebd94dd5be25ec8c899d46ef01b33d5d22c0`	affected	—
`6.18.21`	affected	< 6.18.50
`6.19.11`	affected	< 6.20

Linux

affected

Version	Status	Constraints
`7.0`	affected	—
`0`	unaffected	< 7.0
`6.18.50`	unaffected	≤ 6.18.*
`7.2.4`	unaffected	≤ 7.2.*
`7.3`	unaffected	≤ *

No data.

Vendor Product Versions

Linux

Linux Kernel

Version	Status	Scheme	Platform
`[38ec58670a0c5fc1edabdeccd857e586b7b3f318,895cd4ecbb2e03d7583103c65ee5adaae126ed6d)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[3b89863c3fa482912911cd65a12a3aeef662c250,c05cdc2ab365b98099386e6c166b9865a4f2a9d3)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[3b89863c3fa482912911cd65a12a3aeef662c250,aedf2efd18977e0cef7eb963166e2b1fcc0aa321)`	affected	code_commit	—
`9bbbebd94dd5be25ec8c899d46ef01b33d5d22c0`	affected	code_commit	—
`[6.18.21,6.18.50)`	affected	semver	—
`[6.19.11,6.20)`	affected	semver	—

Linux

Linux Kernel

Version	Status	Scheme	Platform
`7.0`	affected	generic	—
`[0,7.0)`	unaffected	semver	—
`[6.18.50,6.18.*]`	unaffected	generic	—
`[7.2.4,7.2.*]`	unaffected	generic	—
`[7.3-rc1,*]`	unaffected	generic	—

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record.

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

Upgrade the kernel to a version that includes the commit 895cd4ecbb2e03d7583103c65ee5adaae126ed6d or later, which corrects walk_pmd_range() handling
Reboot the’s security‑update channel or enable automatic kernel updates to keep the system current
Apply the upstream patch for walk_pmd_range() manually if a distribution update is unavailable

Generated by OpenCVE AI on September 15, 2026 at 19:09 UTC.

Tracking

Advisories

Source	ID	Title
Ubuntu USN	USN-9019-1	Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN	USN-9020-1	Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Metrics

No CVSS v4.0

Attack Vector Local

Attack Complexity Low

Privileges Required Low

Scope Unchanged

Confidentiality Impact High

Integrity Impact High

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% (0.139% probability within 30 days)

Key SSVC decision points have not yet been added.

References

Link	Providers
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/895cd4ecbb2e03d7583103c65ee5adaae126ed6d
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/aedf2efd18977e0cef7eb963166e2b1fcc0aa321
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c05cdc2ab365b98099386e6c166b9865a4f2a9d3
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-89754
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-89754

History

Sep 13, 2026 6:45 AM Scoring metrics updated View changes

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
Metrics	cvssV3_1 `{'score': 6.3, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H'}`	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'}`

Sep 12, 2026 12:15 AM Weaknesses updated. Added references. Scoring metrics updated View changes

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
Weaknesses		CWE-787
References		https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-89754 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-89754
Metrics	threat_severity `None`	cvssV3_1 `{'score': 6.3, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H'}` threat_severity `Important`

Sep 11, 2026 11:45 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/pagewalk: fix stale walk->action escaping walk_pmd_range() If ->pmd_entry() sets walk->action = ACTION_AGAIN, the pmd_none() check is retried. The PMD entry may be cleared at the point of retry. In this case, if walk->ops->install_pte is not specified, the code continues to the next PMD entry in the range without resetting walk->action to ACTION_SUBTREE. This leaves walk->action erroneously set to ACTION_AGAIN, which is incorrect. This was incorrect but not problematic up until commit 3b89863c3fa4 ("mm/pagewalk: fix race between concurrent split and refault") which updated walk_pud_range() to check for walk->action == ACTION_AGAIN upon walk_pmd_range()'s return, causing the PUD walk to be retried. In this case this results in duplicate walk callbacks being invoked, which is erroneous and will break any caller that is not idempotent with respect to this (and waste time for those which are). The result is an out-of-bounds write, triggered by a local fuzzer: [ 2.272695] ================================================================== [ 2.273471] BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in __mincore_unmapped_range+0x14f/0x190 [ 2.274302] Write of size 1 at addr ffff888008d9b000 by task poc/106 [ 2.274966] [ 2.275154] CPU: 0 UID: 1000 PID: 106 Comm: poc Not tainted 7.2.0-rc6-00429-ga7c7074b58d2 #55 PREEMPT(lazy) [ 2.275159] Hardware name: QEMU Ubuntu 24.04 PC v2 (i440FX + PIIX, arch_caps fix, 1996), BIOS 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2 04/01/2014 [ 2.275164] Call Trace: [ 2.275170] <TASK> [ 2.275172] dump_stack_lvl+0x53/0x70 [ 2.275200] print_report+0xd0/0x630 [ 2.275210] ? __pfx__raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x10/0x10 [ 2.275219] ? irqentry_exit+0xd2/0x670 [ 2.275224] ? irqentry_exit+0xd2/0x670 [ 2.275226] ? __virt_addr_valid+0xef/0x1a0 [ 2.275239] ? __mincore_unmapped_range+0x14f/0x190 [ 2.275242] kasan_report+0xce/0x100 [ 2.275245] ? __mincore_unmapped_range+0x14f/0x190 [ 2.275248] __mincore_unmapped_range+0x14f/0x190 [ 2.275252] mincore_unmapped_range+0x45/0x70 [ 2.275254] walk_pgd_range+0xafc/0xfc0 [ 2.275261] ? __pfx_walk_pgd_range+0x10/0x10 [ 2.275264] ? __update_load_avg_se+0x3d1/0x670 [ 2.275275] __walk_page_range+0xc0/0x310 [ 2.275278] ? __pfx_find_vma+0x10/0x10 [ 2.275281] ? finish_task_switch.isra.0+0x16d/0x4f0 [ 2.275290] walk_page_range_mm_unsafe+0x26f/0x3a0 [ 2.275293] ? __pfx_mtree_load+0x10/0x10 [ 2.275298] ? __pfx_walk_page_range_mm_unsafe+0x10/0x10 [ 2.275302] ? __free_frozen_pages+0x54d/0x7e0 [ 2.275308] __do_sys_mincore+0x132/0x380 [ 2.275311] do_syscall_64+0xf9/0x540 [ 2.275316] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f [ 2.275322] RIP: 0033:0x422ccd [ 2.275326] Code: b3 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 66 90 f3 0f 1e fa 48 89 f8 48 89 f7 48 89 d6 48 89 ca 4d 89 c2 4d 89 c8 4c 8b 4c 24 08 0f 05 <48> 3d 01 f0 ff ff 73 01 c3 48 c7 c1 b8 ff ff ff f7 d8 64 89 01 48 [ 2.275329] RSP: 002b:00007fffffffec18 EFLAGS: 00000287 ORIG_RAX: 000000000000001b [ 2.275337] RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 0000000000000066 RCX: 0000000000422ccd [ 2.275339] RDX: 00000000004d0940 RSI: 0000000001000000 RDI: 00007ffff4000000 [ 2.275340] RBP: 00000000004d0940 R08: 0000000000000100 R09: 0000000000000100 [ 2.275342] R10: 0000000000000100 R11: 0000000000000287 R12: 20c49ba5e353f7cf [ 2.275343] R13: 00000000004990d3 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: 0000000000000001 [ 2.275346] </TASK> [ 2.275347] [ 2.296904] The buggy address belongs to the object at ffff888008d9b000 [ 2.296904] which belongs to the cache sigqueue of size 80 [ 2.298151] The buggy address is located 0 bytes inside of [ 2.298151] allocated 80-byte region [ffff888008d9b000, ffff888008d9b050) [ 2.299408] [ 2.299601] The buggy address belongs to the physical page: [ 2.300191] page: refcount:0 mapcount:0 mapping:0000000000000000 index:0x0 pfn:0x8d9b ---truncated---
Title		mm/pagewalk: fix stale walk->action escaping walk_pmd_range()
First Time appeared		Linux Linux linux Kernel
CPEs		cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
Vendors & Products		Linux Linux linux Kernel
References		https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/895cd4ecbb2e03d7583103c65ee5adaae126ed6d https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/aedf2efd18977e0cef7eb963166e2b1fcc0aa321 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c05cdc2ab365b98099386e6c166b9865a4f2a9d3