Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
mm: fix a UAF when vma->mm is freed after vma->vm_refcnt got dropped
By inducing delays in the right places, Jann Horn created a reproducer for
a hard to hit UAF issue that became possible after VMAs were allowed to be
recycled by adding SLAB_TYPESAFE_BY_RCU to their cache.
Race description is borrowed from Jann's discovery report:
lock_vma_under_rcu() looks up a VMA locklessly with mas_walk() under
rcu_read_lock(). At that point, the VMA may be concurrently freed, and it
can be recycled by another process. vma_start_read() then increments the
vma->vm_refcnt (if it is in an acceptable range), and if this succeeds,
vma_start_read() can return a recycled VMA.
In this scenario where the VMA has been recycled, lock_vma_under_rcu()
will then detect the mismatching ->vm_mm pointer and drop the VMA through
vma_end_read(), which calls vma_refcount_put(). vma_refcount_put() drops
the refcount and then calls rcuwait_wake_up() using a copy of vma->vm_mm.
This is wrong: It implicitly assumes that the caller is keeping the VMA's
mm alive, but in this scenario the caller has no relation to the VMA's mm,
so the rcuwait_wake_up() can cause UAF.
The diagram depicting the race:
T1 T2 T3
== == ==
lock_vma_under_rcu
mas_walk
<VMA gets removed from mm>
mmap
<the same VMA is reallocated>
vma_start_read
__refcount_inc_not_zero_limited_acquire
munmap
__vma_enter_locked
refcount_add_not_zero
vma_end_read
vma_refcount_put
__refcount_dec_and_test
rcuwait_wait_event
<finish operation>
rcuwait_wake_up [UAF]
Note that rcuwait_wait_event() in T3 does not block because refcount was
already dropped by T1. At this point T3 can exit and free the mm causing
UAF in T1.
To avoid this we move vma->vm_mm verification into vma_start_read() and
grab vma->vm_mm to stabilize it before vma_refcount_put() operation.
[surenb@google.com: v3]
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.15 | 6.15.10 |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-intel +8 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-riscv +32 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-gke +28 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-gcp +14 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | linux-hwe-edge | No fix yet | — |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES for SAP 16.0 | kernel-64kb +7 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:21139-1 |
| SLES for SAP 16.0 | kernel-default-base | 6.12.0-160000.6.1.160000.2.4 | SUSE-SU-2025:21139-1 |
| SLES for SAP 16.0 | kernel-livepatch-SLE16_Update_0 | 5-160000.4.3 | SUSE-SU-2026:20149-1 |
| SLES 16.0 | kernel-64kb +7 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:21179-1, SUSE-SU-2025:21139-1 |
| SLES 16.0 | kernel-default-base | 6.12.0-160000.6.1.160000.2.4 | SUSE-SU-2025:21139-1 |
| SLES 16.0 | kernel-livepatch-SLE16_Update_0 | 5-160000.4.3 | SUSE-SU-2026:20149-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.2 | kernel-default-base | 6.12.0-160000.6.1.160000.2.4 | SUSE-SU-2025:21074-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.2 | kernel-livepatch-SLE16-RT_Update_0 | 4-160000.3.4 | SUSE-SU-2026:20164-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.2 | kernel-livepatch-SLE16_Update_0 | 5-160000.4.3 | SUSE-SU-2026:20169-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.2 | kernel-rt +5 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:20560-1, SUSE-SU-2025:21074-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | kernel-default-base | 6.12.0-160000.6.1.160000.2.4 | openSUSE-SU-2025:20081-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | kernel-rt +10 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 | openSUSE-SU-2025:20081-1 |
Advisories 9
- WID-SEC-2025-1869 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 11, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:20560-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jul 9, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2025:20081-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:20149-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel (Live Patch 0 for SUSE Linux Enterprise 16) SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:20164-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel RT (Live Patch 0 for SUSE Linux Enterprise 16) SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:20169-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel (Live Patch 0 for SUSE Linux Enterprise 16) SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:21179-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:21139-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:21074-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026