CVE Intelligence
Unknown

CVE-2026-89796 — mm/damon/core: avoid infinite kdamond_merge_regions() internal loop

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/damon/core: avoid infinite kdamond_merge_regions() internal loop Patch series "mm/damon: unurgent fixes for infinite loop, NULL de-ref and races", v1.1. Sashiko found a few issues in DAMON that could cause infinite loop, NULL dereference and monitoring results degradation. The first two sounds scary but the infinite loop happens only under unreasonable user setup. The NULL dereference is only in a unit test. Monitoring results degradation is trivial since it is only best-effort, and those happens from only unlikely races. Still those are bugs that better to fix if possible. Fix those. This patch (of 6): Due to online parameter update like events, the number of DAMON regions could be higher than the user-set upper limit. kdamond_merge_regions() repeats merge regions until the number meets the limit, while doubling the merge threshold up to the theoretical maximum threshold. It is tried only up to the theoretical maximum threshold because even the aggressive merging can fail from reducing the number of regions under the user-defined upper limit. For example, there could be many user-defined non-contiguous regions that cannot be merged. The threshold based loop break condition is evaluated by comparing the threshold for the next merging try against the theoretical maximum threshold. If max_thres is larger than UINT_MAX / 2, doubling the threshold could make it overflow, and bypass the loop break condition. In the case, if the number of regions cannot be reduced under the upper limit like explained above, the loop will run infinitely. Prevent the case by doing the break condition check before doubling the threshold. Also, prevent the threshold exceeding the maximum threshold, as it could overflow and apply the wrong merge threshold. This issue is unlikely to occur in real world, since having the max_thres higher than UINT_MAX / 2 require unrealistically large aggregation intervals compared to the sampling interval. Also, it requires an unrealistically large number of uncontiguous regions setup. Nonetheless, the consequence is bad and the fix is simple. The issue was discovered [1] by Sashiko.

Published Sep 16, 2026 · Updated Oct 19, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP, GitHub Security Advisories · CNA: Linux

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 0.2% (30-day exploitation probability)+2

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.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
0.23%
ahead of 12% of scored CVEs · Oct 20, 2026
Affects
Linux
Linux
CVSS base
—
Score not published yet.

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.

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.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Linux Linux).
  2. No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
  3. Search available logs for exploit probes, errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Linux Linux ≥ 1e865019cef354a5f0314491b4b4fc9f9a613642 and < 407da1dd7f48e5ba22ceb8834f6923390632d025≥ d7eda72e59bbf3ed592db7ff0fd8c246c73149a8 and < 65edd8b3a88278c9f8e5c7d8c15d4f296ce35078≥ 11078e2d11465518a9e85096bd28f8cd5fa1ea41 and < 5b0953f86d65855dc901050f40bbe6da0475d198≥ 310d6c15e9104c99d5d9d0ff8e5383a79da7d5e6 and < 769c16699c89811386eb003c8fd9dcb8d405b316≥ 310d6c15e9104c99d5d9d0ff8e5383a79da7d5e6 and < 50a7a5aec1aa43efc297fd4377c1cbdc7d15620d≥ 310d6c15e9104c99d5d9d0ff8e5383a79da7d5e6 and < 8a96a06e04d210845be5d9581c0e9e338947e8f8≥ 310d6c15e9104c99d5d9d0ff8e5383a79da7d5e6 and < 123e4619ab6c8ab1c4cb1d7a58311a2af13929cdversion f2bd3184b6aeca6a497394b558337246e09fc02d
and 5 more ≥ 5.15.164 and < 5.15.222≥ 6.1.101 and < 6.1.189≥ 6.6.41 and < 6.6.158≥ 6.9.10 and < 6.10version 6.10
Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 15, 2026 → Oct 20, 2026 · 5 reading(s) · max 0.23%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Not enough vector or weakness data: use the affected application’s logs as a starting point.
application logs

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Record published
    Oct 15, 2026
  • Affected products added · linux/linux
    Oct 15, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Source status changed · → Received
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVE published
    Sep 16, 2026 · Linux

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 1× References added · Oct 19, 2026 – Oct 19, 2026
  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 15, 2026 – Oct 15, 2026

References

9 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Linux
every CVE for this vendor

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-98866 sched/cache: Introduce task_struct->sched_cache_grp to fix UAF 2d
  • CVE-2026-98867 dm-pcache: bound the logical key offset from persistent memory 2d
  • CVE-2026-98868 dm-pcache: reject a kset that overruns its segment 2d
  • CVE-2026-98856 kprobes: Skip disarmed probes when checking optkprobe overlap 2d
  • CVE-2026-98857 ipvs: bound LBLCR and LBLC cache growth 2d
  • CVE-2026-98858 io_uring: fix task_work add use-after-free with SQPOLL 2d

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 CVSS score published by NVD, the CNA, CISA or GitHub so far.
  • No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
  • No CISA SSVC assessment.
  • No CWE classification.
  • 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-2026-89796 is "mm/damon/core: avoid infinite kdamond_merge_regions() internal loop", rated Unknown. It affects Linux (Linux); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. EPSS 0.23% 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.

Comments

Moderated technical discussion. Read the community guidelines.

No comments yet.

Sign in or create an account to comment and suggest corrections.