CVE-2026-74482

mm/huge_memory: unlock i_mmap_rwsem before releasing after-split folios

HIGH
7.8
CVSS Score
Published: August 15, 2026 at 12:27 PM UTC
Updated: October 16, 2026 at 08:17 PM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorLinux Kernel

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Severity
HIGH7.8
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.1%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/huge_memory: unlock i_mmap_rwsem before releasing after-split folios __folio_split() keeps dereferencing the mapping after the split: shmem_uncharge(mapping->host) and remap_page() while the folios are still frozen/locked, and i_mmap_unlock_read(mapping) at the very end, after the after-split folios have been unlocked and freed. Nothing holds an inode reference across that. The split relies on @folio -- which the beyond-EOF drop loop never removes, as it starts at folio_next(folio) -- staying locked and in the page cache to hold off eviction. But the unlock loop unlocks @folio before i_mmap_unlock_read() runs. If the caller's @lock_at is a tail beyond EOF, as memory_failure() passes when splitting a poisoned tail of a shmem THP that reaches past i_size during truncation, it too is gone from the page cache; so once @folio is unlocked no locked, in-cache folio pins the inode, and a concurrent final iput() can evict and RCU-free it before i_mmap_unlock_read() touches i_mmap_rwsem: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in __up_read+0x634/0x790 i_mmap_unlock_read include/linux/fs.h:537 [inline] __folio_split+0x732/0x1640 mm/huge_memory.c:4100 try_to_split_thp_page+0xab/0x390 mm/memory-failure.c:1675 memory_failure+0x1394/0x26e0 mm/memory-failure.c:2470 Freed by task 4601: shmem_free_in_core_inode+0x54/0xb0 mm/shmem.c:5177 evict+0x57f/0xac0 fs/inode.c:870 Do every mapping dereference while @folio still pins the inode: drop i_mmap_rwsem right after remap_page(), before the loop that unlocks and frees the after-split folios, and clear @mapping so the exit path does not unlock it again. shmem_uncharge() and remap_page() already run before that point, so after this nothing past the unlock loop touches the inode or the mapping. This is now a rule the split depends on, alongside keeping @folio frozen until the page cache is updated: no inode or mapping dereference once the after-split folios start being unlocked.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

4.8baa355fd331424526e742d41d9b90d5f9d10f716
Vendor states this is fixed in 10065fb891651d9541e7a5a2db84c1e656ece4f9 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6f5c272d71845a669e4c8ee5c72b376e29a0e6e5 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in bc2f5eabaaf60ec18da70b619a8fba1bfb7dea3a (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in be106f7855f03d3128ed0ce70ba74b484a90b473 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in d640efe94d86d3be893d4c19220362546a637e90 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in e3dd774dbfd0b5bc2dbd0995221751b1234f8205 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in e923bd21058ea02fd0dcd3549d151d143fd036e5 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in f87c08060818ebb19bafed37c38244538da25097 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 4.8 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 5.10.265 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 5.15.216 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.1.183 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.12.103 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.18.44 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.6.151 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 7.1.8 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 7.2 (unaffected)

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet, and no fixed version or vendor advisory is recorded against it.

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatableTotal impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

7.8HIGHLinux
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusRECEIVED

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