CVE-2026-58728 in Android
Summary
by MITRE • 09/15/2026
In ARM64_TLBI of mmu.h, there is a possible memory corruption due to a race condition. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/15/2026
The vulnerability identified within the ARM64 TLB Invalidate (TLBI) implementation in mmu.h represents a critical flaw rooted in improper synchronization mechanisms during memory management operations. Specifically, this race condition occurs when multiple threads or processes attempt to invalidate Translation Lookaside Buffer entries concurrently without adequate locking or atomicity guarantees. The TLB serves as a hardware cache that stores recent virtual-to-physical address translations to accelerate memory access by reducing the need for frequent page table walks in system RAM. When an invalidation operation is initiated, it signals the processor to discard specific cached mappings so that subsequent accesses will fetch fresh entries from the primary page tables. However, if this process is not strictly serialized or protected against concurrent modifications, there exists a window where one thread may modify memory management structures while another thread is in the midst of executing an invalidation sequence. This lack of atomicity allows for state inconsistencies that can corrupt internal kernel data structures associated with virtual memory handling.
From a technical perspective, this race condition exploits the timing gap between checking current mapping states and applying new invalidations. In ARM64 architectures, TLBI instructions are used to maintain coherence across different levels of caching and translation caches within the processor cores. If two contexts attempt to update or invalidate overlapping ranges simultaneously without proper mutual exclusion, one context might overwrite data that another context is currently relying on for valid memory access. This can result in use-after-free scenarios, double frees, or heap corruption within kernel space. Because these operations occur at a low level of the operating system's virtual memory subsystem, they bypass higher-level security checks and directly impact core stability mechanisms. The absence of user interaction required for exploitation means that any local process with sufficient permissions to trigger page table modifications can potentially induce this condition, making it accessible to malware or compromised applications running on the device.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe, primarily due to its potential for local privilege escalation. An attacker who successfully exploits this race condition can manipulate kernel memory structures to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data or execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges, typically equivalent to root or system-level control. Since no additional execution privileges are needed beyond what a standard user process possesses, the attack surface is significantly broadened. This means that even sandboxed applications or unprivileged services could potentially leverage this flaw to break out of their restricted environments and compromise the entire host system. The resulting loss of confidentiality, integrity, and availability affects not only the immediate victim but also any other processes sharing the same kernel space, as memory corruption can lead to unpredictable crashes or further exploitation vectors such as arbitrary read/write primitives that facilitate more complex attacks.
Mitigation strategies must focus on strengthening synchronization mechanisms within the virtual memory management code. Developers should implement robust locking schemes using spinlocks or mutexes around critical sections where TLBI operations and page table updates occur concurrently. Additionally, employing atomic instructions provided by the ARM64 architecture can help ensure that read-modify-write sequences are executed without interruption from other threads. It is also advisable to review existing race condition detection tools like KCSAN (Kernel Concurrency Sanitizer) during development cycles to identify similar timing issues before deployment. For system administrators and users, applying vendor-provided security patches that address this specific flaw in the mmu.h module is essential. Regularly updating firmware and operating systems ensures that these low-level synchronization fixes are applied, thereby closing the window of opportunity for attackers attempting to exploit race conditions in memory management subsystems. Adhering to secure coding practices that prioritize atomicity and mutual exclusion in concurrent environments remains a fundamental defense against such vulnerabilities aligned with CWE-362 principles regarding concurrent execution using shared resources without proper synchronization.