Linux Kernel up to 6.18.41/7.1.5/7.2-rc4 arm64 huge_ptep_get null pointer dereference

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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CTI Interest Score
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9.5$0-$5k0.41

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as very critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.41/7.1.5/7.2-rc4. This vulnerability affects the function huge_ptep_get of the component arm64. The manipulation leads to null pointer dereference. This vulnerability is listed as CVE-2026-68172. The attack may be initiated remotely. There is no available exploit.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as very critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.41/7.1.5/7.2-rc4. This issue affects the function huge_ptep_get of the component arm64. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a null pointer dereference vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-476. A NULL pointer dereference occurs when the application dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid, but is NULL, typically causing a crash or exit. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: arm64: make huge_ptep_get handled unaligned addresses huge_ptep_get() can be handed a virtual address pointing to the middle of a contpmd/contpte mapped hugetlb folio (examples of callers are pagemap_hugetlb_range, page_mapped_in_vma). The arm64 helper rewalks the pgtables in find_num_contig to answer whether the huge pte we have maps a contpmd or a contpte hugetlb folio, and returns CONT_PMDS or CONT_PTES, so that it can collect a/d bits over the contiguous ptes. We can falsely return CONT_PTES instead of CONT_PMDS if the addr is not aligned. On systems where CONT_PTES != CONT_PMDS (meaning page size is 16K), we could collect excess A/D bit state, meaning extra work for the kernel. Even worse, we may iterate beyond the PTE table and dereference a garbage ptep pointer to access physical memory we don't own. Since the ptep pointer is a linear map address, we may run off the end of the linear map or into a hole, dereference a VA not mapped into the kernel pgtables and cause kernel panic. Fix this by aligning the pmdp pointer down to a contpmd base before checking equality with the passed huge pte pointer, to correctly answer whether the huge pte is the base of a contpmd block.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-68172 since 07/30/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be initiated remotely. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 08/10/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.18.42, 7.1.6 or 7.2-rc5 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 9cd4b1a52eff330798d668c1775f8bc450776280/f3530aec26563f4d483ff31402392961362e9bc6/f73a8edc2ccc6ec72c37d5c578e7592d2e1f9922 is able to eliminate this problem.

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Productinfo

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Version

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CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 9.9
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 9.5

VulDB Base Score: 9.9
VulDB Temp Score: 9.5
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
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💳💳💳💳💳💳
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VectorComplexityAuthenticationConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Null pointer dereference
CWE: CWE-476 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined
Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

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Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 6.18.42/7.1.6/7.2-rc5
Patch: 9cd4b1a52eff330798d668c1775f8bc450776280/f3530aec26563f4d483ff31402392961362e9bc6/f73a8edc2ccc6ec72c37d5c578e7592d2e1f9922

Timelineinfo

07/30/2026 CVE reserved
08/10/2026 +11 days Advisory disclosed
08/10/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
08/10/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-68172 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-68172
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-387533

Entryinfo

Created: 08/10/2026 15:50
Changes: 08/10/2026 15:50 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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