Linux Kernel up to 6.18.55/7.2.9/7.3-rc5 Hugetlb get_align_bits input validation

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
5.3	$0-$5k	0.91

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.55/7.2.9/7.3-rc5. Affected by this issue is the function get_align_bits of the component Hugetlb. The manipulation leads to input validation. This vulnerability is documented as CVE-2026-98729. The attack needs to be performed locally. There is not any exploit available. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.55/7.2.9/7.3-rc5 and classified as critical. This issue affects the function get_align_bits of the component Hugetlb. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a input validation vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-20. The product receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly. Impacted is availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: x86/mm: Don't apply va_align to hugetlb mappings on AMD F15h get_align_mask() returns huge_page_mask_align() for hugetlbfs, but get_align_bits() adds va_align.bits regardless, so vm_unmapped_area() returns an address off the huge page boundary and __unmap_hugepage_range() hits BUG_ON(start & ~huge_page_mask(h)) at teardown. This can be triggered on Carrizo and FX-8370E, both hstates. Pass the file to get_align_bits() and skip the randomisation for hugetlbfs. [ bp: Massage commit message. ]

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-98729 since 09/25/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. An attack has to be approached locally. 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 10/18/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.18.56, 7.2.10 or 7.3-rc6 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch fe23680e6f1d52b8cc45d77bf7c54249508a81c7/b46b2e2de47ca9449532b0a7110ed99f79061d6e/d2457a7e2727dc747a61a50d65c2f259afce8c45 is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 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
• 6.18.53
• 6.18.54
• 6.18.55
• 7.2.0
• 7.2.1
• 7.2.2
• 7.2.3
• 7.2.4
• 7.2.5
• 7.2.6
• 7.2.7
• 7.2.8
• 7.2.9
• 7.3-rc1
• 7.3-rc2
• 7.3-rc3
• 7.3-rc4
• 7.3-rc5

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: 5.5
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 5.3

VulDB Base Score: 5.5
VulDB Temp Score: 5.3
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

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

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

Exploitinginfo

Class: Input validation
CWE: CWE-20
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 6.18.56/7.2.10/7.3-rc6
Patch: fe23680e6f1d52b8cc45d77bf7c54249508a81c7/b46b2e2de47ca9449532b0a7110ed99f79061d6e/d2457a7e2727dc747a61a50d65c2f259afce8c45

Timelineinfo

09/25/2026 CVE reserved
10/18/2026 +23 days Advisory disclosed
10/18/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
10/18/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-98729 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-98729
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-421961

Entryinfo

Created: 10/18/2026 19:31
Changes: 10/18/2026 19:31 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Discussion

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