CVE-2026-72172
Published: August 18, 2026Last modified: August 18, 2026
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.
Severity score breakdown
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Base score | 7.8 |
| Attack Vector | LOCAL |
| Attack complexity | LOW |
| Privileges required | LOW |
| User interaction | NONE |
| Scope | UNCHANGED |
| Confidentiality | HIGH |
| Integrity impact | HIGH |
| Availability impact | HIGH |
| Vector | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
Status
| Product | Release | Package | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpaquita Linux | 23 LTS | linux-lts | Vulnerable (6.1.182-r0) |
| 25 LTS | linux-lts | Fixed (6.12.103-r0) | |
| Stream | linux-lts | Fixed (6.18.43-r0) |
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/cd681403a87085562499d60325b7b45d3be11217
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/da5234df0941665f3a3f5b80f3dab94046537be0