CVE-2026-72172 (GCVE-0-2026-72172)
Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-08-15 05:53 – Updated: 2026-10-16 18:45
VLAI
EPSS
VEX
Title
mm/mm_init: fix uninitialized struct pages for ZONE_DEVICE
Summary
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
7.8 (High)
SSVC
Exploitation: none
Automatable: no
Technical Impact: total
CISA Coordinator · CISA-ADP (v2.0.3)
Decision recorded 2026-10-16 18:43 UTC
Assigner
References
6 references
Impacted products
2 products
| Vendor | Product | Version | CPE status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux |
Affected:
6fd3620b342861de9547ea01d28f664892ef51a1 , < c5ef574d57e4a701485c13f26822328c91f05413
(git)
Affected: 6fd3620b342861de9547ea01d28f664892ef51a1 , < 511a60e71aec308b24722cffc1912bf6befb87bf (git) Affected: 6fd3620b342861de9547ea01d28f664892ef51a1 , < 11f2826e9ee6f24aaa774e3dcd75abbe4b3091b6 (git) Affected: 6fd3620b342861de9547ea01d28f664892ef51a1 , < da5234df0941665f3a3f5b80f3dab94046537be0 (git) Affected: 6fd3620b342861de9547ea01d28f664892ef51a1 , < b91e27bce37cab9f35de0059278ebe457ca9878b (git) Affected: 6fd3620b342861de9547ea01d28f664892ef51a1 , < cd681403a87085562499d60325b7b45d3be11217 (git) |
guessed | |
| Linux | Linux |
Affected:
5.19
Unaffected: 0 , < 5.19 (semver) Unaffected: 6.1.184 , ≤ 6.1.* (semver) Unaffected: 6.6.145 , ≤ 6.6.* (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) |
guessed |
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"version": "7.1.5",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "7.2",
"versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"
}
]
}
],
"cpeApplicability": [
{
"nodes": [
{
"cpeMatch": [
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "6.1.184",
"versionStartIncluding": "5.19",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "6.6.145",
"versionStartIncluding": "5.19",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "6.12.97",
"versionStartIncluding": "5.19",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "6.18.40",
"versionStartIncluding": "5.19",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "7.1.5",
"versionStartIncluding": "5.19",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "7.2",
"versionStartIncluding": "5.19",
"vulnerable": true
}
],
"negate": false,
"operator": "OR"
}
]
}
],
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nmm/mm_init: fix uninitialized struct pages for ZONE_DEVICE\n\nIf DAX memory is hotplugged into an unoccupied subsection of an early\nsection, section_activate() reuses the unoptimized boot memmap. However,\ncompound_nr_pages() still assumes that vmemmap optimization is in effect\nand initializes only the reduced number of struct pages. As a result, the\nremaining tail struct pages are left uninitialized, which can later lead\nto unexpected behavior or crashes.\n\nFix this by treating early sections as unoptimized when calculating how\nmany struct pages to initialize."
}
],
"metrics": [
{
"cvssV3_1": {
"baseScore": 7.8,
"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 memmap_init_zone_device() reached via memremap_pages()/devm_memremap_pages() during device-DAX driver probe or ZONE_DEVICE hotplug (e.g., dev_dax_probe, Hyper-V VTL), not via network protocols; subsequent impact is triggered by local mmap/page-fault/get_user_pages activity on the DAX device.\nAC:L - After device-DAX with compound vmemmap (vmemmap_shift\u003e0) is hotplugged into an unoccupied early-section subsection, uninitialized tail struct pages remain indefinitely; an attacker only needs to access that memory (e.g., mmap /dev/dax) to invoke kernel page-metadata operations, without races or uncontrollable victim state.\nPR:L - While initial ZONE_DEVICE hotplug requires administrator device-DAX configuration (daxctl/ndctl, driver bind), on a configured persistent-memory or cloud server unprivileged local users with /dev/dax access can trigger kernel use of the corrupt struct pages via mmap and page faults without CAP_SYS_ADMIN in the init namespace.\nUI:N - Exploitation requires no victim interaction beyond the attacker (or any local user) running programs that mmap or access the already-provisioned DAX device; no mount, click, or plug/unplug action by another user is needed at exploit time.\nS:U - Impact is kernel memory corruption, information disclosure, and denial of service within the host kernel security boundary; it does not inherently cross VM/host, IOMMU, or sandbox isolation even though cloud persistent-memory deployments are a plausible high-impact scenario.\nC:H - Uninitialized tail struct page metadata (flags, refcount, pgmap/lru fields) is later interpreted as valid by the MM subsystem; garbage contents can be read through page-table walks, refcount checks, and folio lookups, yielding kernel memory disclosure comparable to other uninitialized-page corruption bugs.\nI:H - Corrupt struct page fields can drive incorrect refcounting, compound-head/tail linkage, and ZONE_DEVICE pgmap handling, enabling heap-style memory corruption and potential arbitrary kernel write or control-flow hijack, not merely bounded data modification.\nA:H - The fix commit and call path explicitly warn of unexpected behavior and crashes; operations on uninitialized struct pages can provoke kernel oops, BUG_ON, use-after-free, or panic during page allocation, migration, or DAX fault handling, giving reliable denial of service."
}
]
}
],
"providerMetadata": {
"dateUpdated": "2026-08-23T12:47:00.343Z",
"orgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"shortName": "Linux"
},
"references": [
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c5ef574d57e4a701485c13f26822328c91f05413"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/511a60e71aec308b24722cffc1912bf6befb87bf"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/11f2826e9ee6f24aaa774e3dcd75abbe4b3091b6"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/da5234df0941665f3a3f5b80f3dab94046537be0"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b91e27bce37cab9f35de0059278ebe457ca9878b"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cd681403a87085562499d60325b7b45d3be11217"
}
],
"title": "mm/mm_init: fix uninitialized struct pages for ZONE_DEVICE",
"x_generator": {
"engine": "bippy-1.2.0"
}
}
},
"cveMetadata": {
"assignerOrgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"assignerShortName": "Linux",
"cveId": "CVE-2026-72172",
"datePublished": "2026-08-15T05:53:37.795Z",
"dateReserved": "2026-08-09T03:40:39.910Z",
"dateUpdated": "2026-10-16T18:45:00.307Z",
"state": "PUBLISHED"
},
"dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
"dataVersion": "5.2"
}
}
}
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Drag nodes to arrange them. Double-click a related vulnerability to open it, or a source to visit its link. The Physics button on the left tunes the layout and the simulation; the legend at the bottom left hides or shows nodes by kind and by sighting type.
Experimental. This forecast is provided for visualization only and may change without notice. Do not use it for operational decisions.
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.
Vulnerability timeline
Sightings and recorded dates, grouped by day · UTC
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The MITRE ATT&CK techniques below are AI-generated suggestions, inferred from the description of the
vulnerability by the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-classification-roberta-base
model, served locally by ML-Gateway.
They have not been verified by an analyst and are provided for guidance only.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
Browse all ATT&CK techniques and the vulnerabilities related to each.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
Browse all ATT&CK techniques and the vulnerabilities related to each.
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Related by attack behaviour
Vulnerabilities whose description is nearest to this one in the vector space of the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-biencoder model. This is a similarity search over the bi-encoder space (plain cosine), not a classification, and it has no measured accuracy.