Linux Kernel up to 6.12.110/6.18.52/7.2.6/7.3-rc3 x86/mm pmd_modify state issue

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3.2	$0-$5k	0.00+

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability categorized as problematic has been discovered in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.110/6.18.52/7.2.6/7.3-rc3. The affected element is the function pmd_modify of the component x86/mm. The manipulation results in state issue. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-97945. The attack needs to be approached locally. There is no available exploit. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.110/6.18.52/7.2.6/7.3-rc3. Affected is the function pmd_modify of the component x86/mm. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a state issue vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-371. This is going to have an impact on integrity. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: x86/mm: Fix user-space data loss with MADV_FREE and THP Some of users of Polars (a data analytics library) have lost production data from this bug. They seem to have just the right combination of huge pages, MADV_FREE and heavy reclaim pressure. pmd_modify() masks the old value with (_HPAGE_CHG_MASK & ~_PAGE_DIRTY), silently discarding the hardware dirty bit. The subsequent pmd_mksaveddirty() call is supposed to transfer _PAGE_DIRTY into _PAGE_SAVED_DIRTY when write-protecting, but the dirty bit was already stripped from the value, so there is nothing left to transfer. Contrast with pte_modify(), which keeps _PAGE_DIRTY_BITS in its mask, and pud_modify(), which keeps _HPAGE_CHG_MASK untouched: pmd_modify() is the odd one out. Any pmd_modify() on a writable, dirty PMD loses the dirty state. One visible consequence is data loss with MADV_FREE on PMD-mapped THP: memset(buf, 0x5A, size); // PMD-mapped THP, PMD dirty madvise(buf, size, MADV_FREE); // PMD cleaned but left writable, // folio marked lazyfree memset(buf, 0x5A, size); // hardware sets _PAGE_DIRTY again mprotect(buf, size, PROT_READ); // pmd_modify() drops the dirty bit mprotect(buf, size, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE); // ... memory pressure ... Reclaim (e.g. under memcg pressure) then finds the lazyfree folio with no dirty bit set anywhere and frees it in __discard_anon_folio_pmd_locked(), even though the data was rewritten after MADV_FREE; subsequent reads fault in fresh zero pages. NUMA hinting alone can trigger the same loss, as do_huge_pmd_numa_page() restores the PMD through pmd_modify() as well. PMD-mapped file THPs are affected too: mprotect()/NUMA hinting dropping the dirty bit means rewritten data is never written back. Fix it by keeping _PAGE_DIRTY in the preserved mask, exactly like pte_modify() and pud_modify() do. The existing pmd_mksaveddirty()/pmd_clear_saveddirty() pair then performs the hardware-dirty <-> saved-dirty transition based on the write bit, preserving the shadow-stack encoding rules.

The advisory is available at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2026-97945 since 09/25/2026. The exploitability is told to be easy. Local access is required to approach this attack. Technical details are known, but there is no available exploit. The structure of the vulnerability defines a possible price range of USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 09/25/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.12.111, 6.18.53, 7.2.7 or 7.3-rc4 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch e4d569fe2f436a9b58c048fefabf56eab68c1b7e/55ddbc2ca6d5db64d44c3fb8f8705b4d39eb30b7/a5ad97cbcfcec31430268441c10eedde73200177/f7491d7c81db0e7c304a7bd757a76d2fbeaff80e 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

• 6.12.110
• 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
• 6.18.52
• 7.2.0
• 7.2.1
• 7.2.2
• 7.2.3
• 7.2.4
• 7.2.5
• 7.2.6
• 7.3-rc1
• 7.3-rc2
• 7.3-rc3

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: 3.3
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 3.2

VulDB Base Score: 3.3
VulDB Temp Score: 3.2
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

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

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
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VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: State issue
CWE: CWE-371
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 6.12.111/6.18.53/7.2.7/7.3-rc4
Patch: e4d569fe2f436a9b58c048fefabf56eab68c1b7e/55ddbc2ca6d5db64d44c3fb8f8705b4d39eb30b7/a5ad97cbcfcec31430268441c10eedde73200177/f7491d7c81db0e7c304a7bd757a76d2fbeaff80e

Timelineinfo

09/25/2026 Advisory disclosed
09/25/2026 +0 days CVE reserved
09/25/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
09/25/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-97945 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-97945
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-409998

Entryinfo

Created: 09/25/2026 13:40
Changes: 09/25/2026 13:40 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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Discussion

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