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CVE-2026-72027 (GCVE-0-2026-72027)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-08-15 05:51 – Updated: 2026-08-17 05:39
VLAI
Title
mm/compaction: handle free_pages_prepare() properly in compaction_free()
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/compaction: handle free_pages_prepare() properly in compaction_free() free_pages_prepare() can fail but compaction_free() does not handle the failure case. Failed pages should not be added back to cc->freepages for future use, since they can be either PageHWPoison or free_page_is_bad() and might cause data corruption.
Severity
7.8 (High)
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Assigner
References
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version CPE status
Linux Linux Affected: 733aea0b3a7bba0451dfc19322665de13a5b7af4 , < de8577db09039d4950239b01446ab5ead9028ab4 (git)
Affected: 733aea0b3a7bba0451dfc19322665de13a5b7af4 , < 018d7ad26cb8bdfe9842f2ca68a42b0bfdcc82fe (git)
Affected: 733aea0b3a7bba0451dfc19322665de13a5b7af4 , < 23afc3786acf359c135093893fb43a436768c832 (git)
Affected: 733aea0b3a7bba0451dfc19322665de13a5b7af4 , < 7da7d599b8a83271c464adfd5ef160202b470570 (git)
guessed Create a notification for this product.
Linux Linux Affected: 6.9
Unaffected: 0 , < 6.9 (semver)
Unaffected: 6.12.97 , ≤ 6.12.* (semver)
Unaffected: 6.18.40 , ≤ 6.18.* (semver)
Unaffected: 7.1.5 , ≤ 7.1.* (semver)
Unaffected: 7.2 , ≤ * (original_commit_for_fix)
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Show details on NVD website
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{
  "containers": {
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        {
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
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              "versionType": "semver"
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              "negate": false,
              "operator": "OR"
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          ]
        }
      ],
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        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nmm/compaction: handle free_pages_prepare() properly in compaction_free()\n\nfree_pages_prepare() can fail but compaction_free() does not handle the\nfailure case.  Failed pages should not be added back to cc-\u003efreepages for\nfuture use, since they can be either PageHWPoison or free_page_is_bad()\nand might cause data corruption."
        }
      ],
      "metrics": [
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            "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
            "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
            "version": "3.1"
          },
          "scenarios": [
            {
              "lang": "en",
              "value": "AV:L - The flaw is in mm/compaction.c compaction_free(), reached only via local kernel memory-management paths (__alloc_pages_slowpath/try_to_compact_pages, kcompactd, or root sysctl), not from network packet handlers or physical device insertion.\nAC:L - An unprivileged attacker can reliably drive compaction (THP/high-order mmap, memory pressure) and concurrently force migrate_pages failures and races so compaction_free() runs on pages where free_pages_prepare() rejects them; both sides are attacker-influenceable.\nPR:L - No special capability is required: ordinary local processes trigger direct compaction through normal allocators and transparent hugepage mappings, and user namespaces do not block these memory syscalls or kcompactd-driven compaction on the host.\nUI:N - Exploitation requires only the attacker\u0027s own memory-allocation and churn activity; no separate victim must mount filesystems, open files, or perform other interactive steps beyond routine process execution.\nS:U - Recycling PageHWPoison or free_page_is_bad() pages corrupts host kernel page-allocator/compaction state and process memory within the same OS security authority, not a VM-guest-to-host or IOMMU boundary crossing.\nC:H - Reusing pages that failed free_pages_prepare() can expose stale kernel or cross-process contents and enables allocator/page aliasing primitives; under the overestimate rule, this memory-corruption class supports high confidentiality impact.\nI:H - The fix explicitly warns these pages may cause data corruption when returned to cc-\u003efreepages; compaction_alloc() later hands them to migrate_pages as destinations, allowing corrupted/compound state to be written into live mappings.\nA:H - Reallocating HWPoison or allocator-marked bad pages during compaction can trigger kernel faults, bad-page detection, oopses, or panics when the poisoned folio is touched, satisfying high availability impact under the kernel crash guidance."
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "providerMetadata": {
        "dateUpdated": "2026-08-17T05:39:33.783Z",
        "orgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
        "shortName": "Linux"
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/de8577db09039d4950239b01446ab5ead9028ab4"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/018d7ad26cb8bdfe9842f2ca68a42b0bfdcc82fe"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/23afc3786acf359c135093893fb43a436768c832"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7da7d599b8a83271c464adfd5ef160202b470570"
        }
      ],
      "title": "mm/compaction: handle free_pages_prepare() properly in compaction_free()",
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  },
  "cveMetadata": {
    "assignerOrgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
    "assignerShortName": "Linux",
    "cveId": "CVE-2026-72027",
    "datePublished": "2026-08-15T05:51:51.219Z",
    "dateReserved": "2026-08-09T03:40:39.901Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-08-17T05:39:33.783Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
  },
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  "dataVersion": "5.2",
  "vulnerability-lookup:meta": {
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      "date": "2026-09-04",
      "epss": "0.00175",
      "percentile": "0.07127"
    },
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    "redhat_vex": {
      "aggregate_severity": "Moderate",
      "current_release_date": "2026-08-17T17:47:53+00:00",
      "cve": "CVE-2026-72027",
      "id": "CVE-2026-72027",
      "initial_release_date": "2026-08-15T00:00:00+00:00",
      "product_status:known_affected": "90",
      "product_status:known_not_affected": "184",
      "source": "Red Hat CSAF VEX",
      "status": "final",
      "title": "kernel: mm/compaction: handle free_pages_prepare() properly in compaction_free()",
      "url": "https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-72027.json",
      "version": "3"
    }
  }
}



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Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.

Sightings

Author Source Type Date Other

Nomenclature

  • Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
  • Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
  • Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
  • Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
  • Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.


Detection rules are retrieved from Rulezet.