CVE-2026-31398 — mm/rmap: fix incorrect pte restoration for lazyfree folios
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/rmap: fix incorrect pte restoration for lazyfree folios We batch unmap anonymous lazyfree folios by folio_unmap_pte_batch. If the batch has a mix of writable and non-writable bits, we may end up setting the entire batch writable. Fix this by respecting writable bit during batching. Although on a successful unmap of a lazyfree folio, the soft-dirty bit is lost, preserve it on pte restoration by respecting the bit during batching, to make the fix consistent w.r.t both writable bit and soft-dirty bit. I was able to write the below reproducer and crash the kernel. Explanation of reproducer (set 64K mTHP to always): Fault in a 64K large folio. Split the VMA at mid-point with MADV_DONTFORK. fork() - parent points to the folio with 8 writable ptes and 8 non-writable ptes. Merge the VMAs with MADV_DOFORK so that folio_unmap_pte_batch() can determine all the 16 ptes as a batch. Do MADV_FREE on the range to mark the folio as lazyfree. Write to the memory to dirty the pte, eventually rmap will dirty the folio. Then trigger reclaim, we will hit the pte restoration path, and the kernel will crash with the trace given below. The BUG happens at: BUG_ON(atomic_inc_return(&ptc->anon_map_count) > 1 && rw); The code path is asking for anonymous page to be mapped writable into the pagetable. The BUG_ON() firing implies that such a writable page has been mapped into the pagetables of more than one process, which breaks anonymous memory/CoW semantics. [ 21.134473] kernel BUG at mm/page_table_check.c:118! [ 21.134497] Internal error: Oops - BUG: 00000000f2000800 [#1] SMP [ 21.135917] Modules linked in: [ 21.136085] CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 1735 Comm: dup-lazyfree Not tainted 7.0.0-rc1-00116-g018018a17770 #1028 PREEMPT [ 21.136858] Hardware name: linux,dummy-virt (DT) [ 21.137019] pstate: 21400005 (nzCv daif +PAN -UAO -TCO +DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) [ 21.137308] pc : page_table_check_set+0x28c/0x2a8 [ 21.137607] lr : page_table_check_set+0x134/0x2a8 [ 21.137885] sp : ffff80008a3b3340 [ 21.138124] x29: ffff80008a3b3340 x28: fffffdffc3d14400 x27: ffffd1a55e03d000 [ 21.138623] x26: 0040000000000040 x25: ffffd1a55f7dd000 x24: 0000000000000001 [ 21.139045] x23: 0000000000000001 x22: 0000000000000001 x21: ffffd1a55f217f30 [ 21.139629] x20: 0000000000134521 x19: 0000000000134519 x18: 005c43e000040000 [ 21.140027] x17: 0001400000000000 x16: 0001700000000000 x15: 000000000000ffff [ 21.140578] x14: 000000000000000c x13: 005c006000000000 x12: 0000000000000020 [ 21.140828] x11: 0000000000000000 x10: 005c000000000000 x9 : ffffd1a55c079ee0 [ 21.141077] x8 : 0000000000000001 x7 : 005c03e000040000 x6 : 000000004000ffff [ 21.141490] x5 : ffff00017fffce00 x4 : 0000000000000001 x3 : 0000000000000002 [ 21.141741] x2 : 0000000000134510 x1 : 0000000000000000 x0 : ffff0000c08228c0 [ 21.141991] Call trace: [ 21.142093] page_table_check_set+0x28c/0x2a8 (P) [ 21.142265] __page_table_check_ptes_set+0x144/0x1e8 [ 21.142441] __set_ptes_anysz.constprop.0+0x160/0x1a8 [ 21.142766] contpte_set_ptes+0xe8/0x140 [ 21.142907] try_to_unmap_one+0x10c4/0x10d0 [ 21.143177] rmap_walk_anon+0x100/0x250 [ 21.143315] try_to_unmap+0xa0/0xc8 [ 21.143441] shrink_folio_list+0x59c/0x18a8 [ 21.143759] shrink_lruvec+0x664/0xbf0 [ 21.144043] shrink_node+0x218/0x878 [ 21.144285] __node_reclaim.constprop.0+0x98/0x338 [ 21.144763] user_proactive_reclaim+0x2a4/0x340 [ 21.145056] reclaim_store+0x3c/0x60 [ 21.145216] dev_attr_store+0x20/0x40 [ 21.145585] sysfs_kf_write+0x84/0xa8 [ 21.145835] kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x130/0x1c8 [ 21.145994] vfs_write+0x2b8/0x368 [ 21.146119] ksys_write+0x70/0x110 [ 21.146240] __arm64_sys_write+0x24/0x38 [ 21.146380] invoke_syscall+0x50/0x120 [ 21.146513] el0_svc_common.constprop.0+0x48/0xf8 [ 21.146679] do_el0_svc+0x28/0x40 [ 21.146798] el0_svc+0x34/0x110 [ 21.146926] el0t ---truncated---
Who exploits it and how urgent it is
A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.
How the score was calculated
- EPSS 0.2% (30-day exploitation probability)+1
- Technical severity (high)+6
The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.
Remediation
Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.
- Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
- Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
- Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
First 24 hours
Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.
- Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Linux Linux, Linux Linux Kernel).
- Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
- Search available logs for exploit probes, errors and authentication anomalies.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | ≥ 354dffd29575cdf13154e8fb787322354aa9efc4 and < 99888a4f340ca8e839a0524556bd4db76d63f4e0≥ 354dffd29575cdf13154e8fb787322354aa9efc4 and < a0911ccdba41b0871abbf8412857bafedec3dbe1≥ 354dffd29575cdf13154e8fb787322354aa9efc4 and < 29f40594a28114b9a9bc87f6cf7bbee9609628f2version 6.15 | Vulnerable | CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | ≥ 6.15 and < 6.18.20≥ 6.19 and < 6.19.10version 7.0-rc1version 7.0-rc2version 7.0-rc3version 7.0-rc4 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.8 | CVSS 3.1 | High | 1.8 | 5.9 | 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 7.8 | CVSS 3.1 | High | — | — | Linux via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67) Weakness MITRE
Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.
EPSS over time FIRST
Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 0.17%
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.
- Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- Affected products added · linux/linux
- Record published
- Fix documented
- CVSS changed · 7.8
- Source status changed · → Analyzed
- Record created in this database
- CVE published
Source activity
Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.
- 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
References
3 on the record
Elsewhere on this site
Related CVEs (same products)
- Critical CVE-2026-99999 ipv4: validate checksum_start before completing checksum 7h
- Unknown CVE-2026-98432 ipv4: free inet_opt and ireq_opt after an RCU grace period 7h
- Unknown CVE-2026-98424 wifi: cfg80211: undo netns switch if renaming the wiphy fails 1d
- Unknown CVE-2026-98425 wifi: mac80211: don't warn when an IBSS has no channel to scan 1d
- Unknown CVE-2026-98426 wifi: mwifiex: fix IRQ leak using wrong index in MSI-X error path 1d
- Unknown CVE-2026-98427 net/sched: codel: bound the dropping loop per dequeue call 1d
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No CISA SSVC assessment.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.
Answered from this record
Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.
What should defenders know first?
CVE-2026-31398 is "mm/rmap: fix incorrect pte restoration for lazyfree folios", rated High. It affects Linux (Linux); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 7.8 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.17% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.
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