CVE-2026-98259
Received Received - Intake

Kernel panic in Linux kernel DAX subsystem

Publication date: 2026-10-06

Last updated on: 2026-10-06

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs/dax: check zero or empty entry before converting xarray entry Calling dax_to_folio() with empty entry causes kernel panic below when booting a VM with DAX enabled storage. This patch checks empty entry before calling dax_to_folio() on dax_associate_entry(), dax_disassociate_entry(), and dax_busy_page(). Commit 98c183a4fccf ("fs/dax: don't disassociate zero page entries") added guards in the associate and disassociate paths, but the guards still come after dax_to_folio(), and dax_busy_page() still has the same problem. [ 0.737679] EXT4-fs (pmem0p1): mounted filesystem 79676804-7c8b-491a-b2a6-9bae3c72af70 ro with ordered data mode. Quota mode: disabled. [ 0.737891] VFS: Mounted root (ext4 filesystem) readonly on device 259:1. [ 0.739119] devtmpfs: mounted [ 0.739476] Freeing unused kernel memory: 1920K [ 0.740156] Run /sbin/init as init process [ 0.740229] with arguments: [ 0.740286] /sbin/init [ 0.740321] with environment: [ 0.740369] HOME=/ [ 0.740400] TERM=linux [ 0.743162] Unable to handle kernel paging request at virtual address fffffdffbf000008 [ 0.743285] Mem abort info: [ 0.743316] ESR = 0x0000000096000006 [ 0.743371] EC = 0x25: DABT (current EL), IL = 32 bits [ 0.743444] SET = 0, FnV = 0 [ 0.743489] EA = 0, S1PTW = 0 [ 0.743545] FSC = 0x06: level 2 translation fault [ 0.743610] Data abort info: [ 0.743656] ISV = 0, ISS = 0x00000006, ISS2 = 0x00000000 [ 0.743720] CM = 0, WnR = 0, TnD = 0, TagAccess = 0 [ 0.743785] GCS = 0, Overlay = 0, DirtyBit = 0, Xs = 0 [ 0.743848] swapper pgtable: 4k pages, 48-bit VAs, pgdp=00000000b9d17000 [ 0.743931] [fffffdffbf000008] pgd=10000000bfa3d403, p4d=10000000bfa3d403, pud=1000000040bfe403, pmd=0000000000000000 [ 0.744070] Internal error: Oops: 0000000096000006 [#1] SMP [ 0.748888] CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 1 Comm: init Not tainted 6.18.4 #1 NONE [ 0.749421] pstate: 004000c5 (nzcv daIF +PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) [ 0.749969] pc : dax_disassociate_entry.constprop.0+0x20/0x50 [ 0.750444] lr : dax_insert_entry+0xcc/0x408 [ 0.750802] sp : ffff80008000b9e0 [ 0.751083] x29: ffff80008000b9e0 x28: 0000000000000000 x27: 0000000000000000 [ 0.751682] x26: 0000000001963d01 x25: ffff0000004f7d90 x24: 0000000000000000 [ 0.752264] x23: 0000000000000000 x22: ffff80008000bcc8 x21: 0000000000000011 [ 0.752836] x20: ffff80008000ba90 x19: 0000000001963d01 x18: 0000000000000000 [ 0.753407] x17: 0000000000000000 x16: 0000000000000000 x15: 0000000000000000 [ 0.753970] x14: ffffbf3154b9ae70 x13: 0000000000000000 x12: ffffbf3154b9ae70 [ 0.754548] x11: ffffffffffffffff x10: 0000000000000000 x9 : 0000000000000000 [ 0.755122] x8 : 000000000000000d x7 : 000000000000001f x6 : 0000000000000000 [ 0.755707] x5 : 0000000000000000 x4 : 0000000000000000 x3 : fffffdffc0000000 [ 0.756287] x2 : 0000000000000008 x1 : 0000000040000000 x0 : fffffdffbf000000 [ 0.756871] Call trace: [ 0.757107] dax_disassociate_entry.constprop.0+0x20/0x50 (P) [ 0.757592] dax_iomap_pte_fault+0x4fc/0x808 [ 0.757951] dax_iomap_fault+0x28/0x30 [ 0.758258] ext4_dax_huge_fault+0x80/0x2dc [ 0.758594] ext4_dax_fault+0x10/0x3c [ 0.758892] __do_fault+0x38/0x12c [ 0.759175] __handle_mm_fault+0x530/0xcf0 [ 0.759518] handle_mm_fault+0xe4/0x230 [ 0.759833] do_page_fault+0x17c/0x4dc [ 0.760144] do_translation_fault+0x30/0x38 [ 0.760483] do_mem_abort+0x40/0x8c [ 0.760771] el0_ia+0x4c/0x170 [ 0.761032] el0t_64_sync_handler+0xd8/0xdc [ 0.761371] el0t_64_sync+0x168/0x16c [ 0.761677] Code: f9453021 f2dfbfe3 cb813080 8b001860 (f9400401) [ 0.762168] ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- [ 0.762550] note: init[1] exited with irqs disabled [ 0.762631] Kernel panic - not syncing: Attempted to kill init! exitcode=0x0000000b

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

Probability:
Percentile:

Meta Information

Published
2026-10-06
Last Modified
2026-10-06
Generated
2026-10-06
AI Q&A
2026-10-06
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-98259
EUVD
EUVD-2026-93187

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 4 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
Linux Linux 38607c62b34b46317c46d5baf1df03ac6e48a1c6
Linux Linux 38607c62b34b46317c46d5baf1df03ac6e48a1c6
Linux Linux 38607c62b34b46317c46d5baf1df03ac6e48a1c6
Linux Linux 6.15

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE
CWE Icon
KEV
KEV Icon
CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

Attack-Flow Graph

AI Quick Actions

Instant insights powered by AI
Executive Summary

This vulnerability in the Linux kernel occurs when the system tries to convert an empty or zero entry in the xarray to a folio using dax_to_folio(). This causes a kernel panic, especially when booting a virtual machine with DAX-enabled storage. The issue was partially addressed in a previous commit but remained in some functions like dax_busy_page().

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability is specific to the Linux kernel's DAX (Direct Access) filesystem handling and may cause kernel panics during boot. Detection requires checking kernel logs for oops or panic messages related to DAX operations. Monitor logs with 'dmesg | grep -i dax' or 'journalctl -k | grep -i dax'. If you suspect this issue, verify your kernel version and check if it includes the vulnerable code paths.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can cause a system crash (kernel panic) when booting a VM with DAX-enabled storage, leading to unavailability of the system. It may result in data loss or corruption if the system fails to boot properly.

Mitigation Strategies

Apply the kernel patch that adds checks for zero or empty entries before converting xarray entries. Update to a fixed kernel version that includes the patch. If immediate patching isn't possible, avoid using DAX-enabled storage for critical VMs until patched. Monitor system stability during boot and operation.

Chat Assistant

Ask questions about this CVE
Hi! I’m here to help you understand CVE-2026-98259. Ask me anything about the vulnerability, its impact, or mitigation strategies.
0/70

EPSS Chart