CVE-2026-72172
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/mm_init: fix uninitialized struct pages for ZONE_DEVICE If DAX memory is hotplugged into an unoccupied subsection of an early section, section_activate() reuses the unoptimized boot…
Does this matter?
High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (0.16%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/mm_init: fix uninitialized struct pages for ZONE_DEVICE If DAX memory is hotplugged into an unoccupied subsection of an early section, section_activate() reuses the unoptimized boot memmap. However, compound_nr_pages() still assumes that vmemmap optimization is in effect and initializes only the reduced number of struct pages. As a result, the remaining tail struct pages are left uninitialized, which can later lead to unexpected behavior or crashes. Fix this by treating early sections as unoptimized when calculating how many struct pages to initialize.
- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- EPSS
- 0.16% probability · 6th percentile
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Source
- 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/11f2826e9ee6f24aaa774e3dcd75abbe4b3091b6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/511a60e71aec308b24722cffc1912bf6befb87bf
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b91e27bce37cab9f35de0059278ebe457ca9878b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c5ef574d57e4a701485c13f26822328c91f05413
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cd681403a87085562499d60325b7b45d3be11217
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/da5234df0941665f3a3f5b80f3dab94046537be0
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA. Refreshed daily.