CVE-2026-72412

CRITICALCVSS 9.3/10EPSS 0.20%

Last modified

CVE-2026-72412 is a critical-severity vulnerability rated 9.3/10 on the CVSS scale. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: s390/mm: Fix handling of _PAGE_UNUSED pte bit The _PAGE_UNUSED softbit should not really be lying around. Its sole purpose is to signal to try_to_unmap_one() and try_to_migrate_one() that the page can be discarded instead of being moved / swapped. KVM has no way to know why a page is being unmapped, so it sets the bit on userspace ptes corresponding to unused guest pages every time they get unmapped. EPSS estimates a 0.20% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: s390/mm: Fix handling of _PAGE_UNUSED pte bit The _PAGE_UNUSED softbit should not really be lying around. Its sole purpose is to signal to try_to_unmap_one() and try_to_migrate_one() that the page can be discarded instead of being moved / swapped. KVM has no way to know why a page is being unmapped, so it sets the bit on userspace ptes corresponding to unused guest pages every time they get unmapped. KVM has no reasonable way to clear the bit once the page is in use again. While set_ptes() checks and clears the bit, other paths that set new ptes did not. This led to used pages being thrown out as if they were unused, causing guest corruption. Fix the issue by clearing the _PAGE_UNUSED bit for present ptes in set_pte(), i.e. whenever a present pte is getting set. The check in set_ptes() is then redundant and can be removed. Also fix gmap_helper_try_set_pte_unused() to only set the bit if the pte is present; the _PAGE_UNUSED bit is only defined for present ptes and thus should not be set for non-present ptes.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1
9.3/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS Probability
0.20%

9.9th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Affected Software

Source: CNA advisory (CVE.org). NVD analysis pending.

VendorProductVersions
LinuxLinux>= c98175b7917fa81cd499b1527c4a57fd7d36711e, < fda07c8e4b54b9105f1ca73f0adea7b244d405f4; >= c98175b7917fa81cd499b1527c4a57fd7d36711e, < d4bb00704a66024502261fa7a523c07420249fea
LinuxLinux7.0

References

Timeline

Published
Last Modified
Status
Received

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-72412?
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: s390/mm: Fix handling of _PAGE_UNUSED pte bit The _PAGE_UNUSED softbit should not really be lying around. Its sole purpose is to signal to try_to_unmap_one() and try_to_migrate_one() that the page can be discarded instead of being moved / swapped. KVM has no way to know why a page is being unmapped, so it sets the bit on userspace ptes corresponding to unused guest pages every time they get unmapped. KVM has no reasonable way to clear the bit once the page is in use again. While set_ptes() checks and clears the bit, other paths that set new ptes did not. This led to used pages being thrown out as if they were unused, causing guest corruption. Fix the issue by clearing the _PAGE_UNUSED bit for present ptes in set_pte(), i.e. whenever a present pte is getting set. The check in set_ptes() is then redundant and can be removed. Also fix gmap_helper_try_set_pte_unused() to only set the bit if the pte is present; the _PAGE_UNUSED bit is only defined for present ptes and thus should not be set for non-present ptes.
How severe is CVE-2026-72412?
CVE-2026-72412 has a CVSS score of 9.3/10 (CRITICAL severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.20% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2026-72412?
Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

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Source: NVD / NIST