CVE-2026-72174
Received
Received - Intake
Deadlock in Linux Kernel's HugeTLB PageMap Scan
Vulnerability report for CVE-2026-72174, including description, CVSS score, EPSS score, affected products, exploitability, helpful resources, and attack-flow context.
Publication date: 2026-08-15
Last updated on: 2026-08-15
Assigner: kernel.org
Description
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
fs/proc/task_mmu: fix hugetlb self-deadlock in pagemap_scan_pte_hole()
A PAGEMAP_SCAN ioctl requesting PM_SCAN_WP_MATCHING on a hugetlb VMA hangs
the calling thread, unkillably, as soon as the scan reaches an unpopulated
part of the range:
do_pagemap_scan()
walk_page_range()
walk_hugetlb_range()
hugetlb_vma_lock_read() # take the vma lock for read ...
pagemap_scan_pte_hole() # ... ->pte_hole() for a hole
uffd_wp_range()
change_protection()
hugetlb_change_protection()
hugetlb_vma_lock_write() # ... and block taking it for write
walk_hugetlb_range() holds the hugetlb vma lock for read across the whole
walk. A present entry goes to ->hugetlb_entry(); an unpopulated one goes
to ->pte_hole(), i.e. pagemap_scan_pte_hole(). To write-protect the hole
that handler calls uffd_wp_range(), which on a hugetlb VMA reaches
hugetlb_change_protection() and takes the same vma lock for write. The
thread then blocks in down_write() waiting for the read lock it is itself
holding.
The populated path avoids this: pagemap_scan_hugetlb_entry()
write-protects the entry inline under the page-table lock and never enters
hugetlb_change_protection().
Do the same for holes. Fault in the page table and install the uffd-wp
marker directly with make_uffd_wp_huge_pte() under the page-table lock,
rather than routing through uffd_wp_range(). That is the same sequence
hugetlb_change_protection() runs for an unpopulated entry, minus the vma
write lock -- which is safe to skip because PMD sharing is disabled on
uffd-wp VMAs (hugetlb_unshare_all_pmds() runs at registration), leaving
nothing for that lock to serialise against.
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
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Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| linux | linux_kernel | * |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
KEV
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-UNKNOWN |
