Linux Kernel up to 7.2.5 show_pte use after free

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8.4	$0-$5k	0.00-

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.2.5. It has been rated as very critical. Affected by this issue is the function show_pte. The manipulation leads to use after free. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-90303. Local access is required to approach this attack. No exploit exists. Upgrading the affected component is advised.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as very critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 7.2.5. This issue affects the function show_pte. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ARM: 9485/1: mm: acquire mmap write lock around show_pte() for user faults When CONFIG_DEBUG_USER=y, and cmdline "user_debug=31" is set, a user fault may trigger show_pte() without any lock. If another thread in the same process concurrently calls munmap(), the page table pages may be freed while show_pte() is still traversing them, causing a use-after-free in show_pte(). If CONFIG_ARM_LPAE=y, this may cause a kernel panic if the pages table of PMD are freed when show_pte() is running. Acquire mmap_write_lock() around show_pte() for user faults to fix the contention. For user faults, additionally restrict that show_pte() is called only when the addr is a user-space address (addr < TASK_SIZE). This is because the lock of tsk->mm only protects the virtual memory of user address space, furthermore, dumping the page tables of a kernel-space address for user faults is unnecessary and may have security implications. Keep everything unchanged for kernel faults, because the kernel is already in the "oops" state, acquiring a lock may risk a deadlock.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-90303 since 09/11/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. Attacking locally is a requirement. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 09/17/2026).

Upgrading to version 5.10.270, 5.15.221, 6.1.188, 6.6.157, 6.12.110, 6.18.52, 7.2.6 or 7.3-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch ab14f07952adfe735d86a53518f8cd576dfd5892/07e4d5380f2a844ab7a1b440dde350caf561cbb0/2a14d7797a49a47bccd1a9327fd69da838dcb0dd/63e3c958a602d0896a101a897c2361878c266ca7/59bbf86d0ff9373bfa033ca123c1e924f09f1eba/c71f9a56520b419e55d173052629f2324deb5549/720408d98d9fb3c91a12090436734c8c61f04545/1039bffd6ae9c75b42b7d148d6c1106134107b66 is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.10.269
• 5.15.220
• 6.1.187
• 6.6.156
• 6.12.109
• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2
• 6.18.3
• 6.18.4
• 6.18.5
• 6.18.6
• 6.18.7
• 6.18.8
• 6.18.9
• 6.18.10
• 6.18.11
• 6.18.12
• 6.18.13
• 6.18.14
• 6.18.15
• 6.18.16
• 6.18.17
• 6.18.18
• 6.18.19
• 6.18.20
• 6.18.21
• 6.18.22
• 6.18.23
• 6.18.24
• 6.18.25
• 6.18.26
• 6.18.27
• 6.18.28
• 6.18.29
• 6.18.30
• 6.18.31
• 6.18.32
• 6.18.33
• 6.18.34
• 6.18.35
• 6.18.36
• 6.18.37
• 6.18.38
• 6.18.39
• 6.18.40
• 6.18.41
• 6.18.42
• 6.18.43
• 6.18.44
• 6.18.45
• 6.18.46
• 6.18.47
• 6.18.48
• 6.18.49
• 6.18.50
• 6.18.51
• 7.2.0
• 7.2.1
• 7.2.2
• 7.2.3
• 7.2.4
• 7.2.5

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 8.8
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 8.4

VulDB Base Score: 8.8
VulDB Temp Score: 8.4
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Use after free
CWE: CWE-416 / CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: No

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

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 5.10.270/5.15.221/6.1.188/6.6.157/6.12.110/6.18.52/7.2.6/7.3-rc1
Patch: ab14f07952adfe735d86a53518f8cd576dfd5892/07e4d5380f2a844ab7a1b440dde350caf561cbb0/2a14d7797a49a47bccd1a9327fd69da838dcb0dd/63e3c958a602d0896a101a897c2361878c266ca7/59bbf86d0ff9373bfa033ca123c1e924f09f1eba/c71f9a56520b419e55d173052629f2324deb5549/720408d98d9fb3c91a12090436734c8c61f04545/1039bffd6ae9c75b42b7d148d6c1106134107b66

Timelineinfo

09/11/2026 CVE reserved
09/17/2026 +6 days Advisory disclosed
09/17/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
09/17/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-90303 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-90303
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-406847

Entryinfo

Created: 09/17/2026 21:32
Changes: 09/17/2026 21:32 (58)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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Discussion

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