Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
mm/mm_init: deferred_grow_zone(): fix out-of-range first_deferred_pfn
With CONFIG_DEFERRED_STRUCT_PAGE_INIT enabled, deferred_grow_zone()
initializes struct pages early in boot to satisfy an allocation.
With a large CMA reservation in place, the ranges deferred_init_memmap()
finds may not add up to the allocation it was asked for, and the function
ends up initializing the memory map of the entire zone and still falls
short.
That is fine in itself: the function accounts for it and leaves the
caller to decide whether it now has enough memory.
However, the update of pgdat->first_deferred_pfn that tracks where
uninitialized memory map starts could overflow.
If the node's RAM end is not aligned on PAGES_PER_SECTION boundaries and
some deferred struct pages were initialized, pgdat->first_deferred_pfn
would point past the end of the node's memory.
deferred_init_memmap() later picks up from pgdat->first_deferred_pfn and
hits a BUG_ON(), because it expects a pfn within its node.
For example, when running a kernel with CONFIG_DEFERRED_STRUCT_PAGE_INIT=y
and CONFIG_CMA=y using the following qemu command line
qemu-system-x86_64 -enable-kvm -m 8032M -kernel bzImage \
-append "nokaslr cma=4768M@0x100000000"
the kernel panics:
kernel BUG at mm/mm_init.c:2131!
CPU: 3 UID: 0 PID: 36 Comm: pgdatinit0 Not tainted 7.2.0-rc6 #1
RIP: 0010:deferred_init_memmap+0x1b8/0x1c0
RAX: 0000000000236000 R13: 0000000000238000
Call Trace:
kthread+0xdf/0x120
ret_from_fork+0x187/0x250
Make sure that the update of pgdta->first_deferred_pfn does not overflow
when the entire zone's (and therefore node's) memory map is initialized.
[rppt: massaged the changelog]
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.18 | 6.18.50 |
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.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | linux | 7.2.6-1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux | 7.0.0-42.42 | USN-8959-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-aws | 7.0.0-1016.17 | USN-8959-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-azure | 7.0.0-1020.21 | USN-9019-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-azure-fde | 7.0.0-1019.19 | USN-9020-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-gcp | 7.0.0-1016.18 | USN-8959-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-gke | 7.0.0-1010.11 | USN-9020-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-ibm +1 | 7.0.0-1017.17 | USN-8960-1, USN-8959-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-nvidia +1 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-oracle | 7.0.0-1015.16 | USN-8959-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-raspi | 7.0.0-1023.23 | USN-9021-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-realtime | 7.0.0-43.43.1 | USN-9020-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-riscv | 7.0.0-42.42.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-aws-7.0 | 7.0.0-1017.18~24.04.1 | USN-9020-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-azure-fde-7.0 | 7.0.0-1019.19~24.04.1 | USN-9020-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gcp-7.0 | 7.0.0-1017.19~24.04.1 | USN-9020-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-hwe-7.0 | 7.0.0-42.42~24.04.1 | USN-8959-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-oracle-7.0 | 7.0.0-1016.18~24.04.1 | USN-9020-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-riscv +27 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-riscv-7.0 | 7.0.0-42.42.1~24.04.1 | — |
| 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 | — |
Show 2 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | linux-hwe-edge | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-realtime-6.14 +1 | No fix yet | — |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | kernel-source | 7.2.8-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:11893-1 |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2023 | kernel-livepatch-6.18.51-120.162 | 1:1.0-0.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2026-3187 |
| Amazon Linux 2023 | perf6.18 +12 | 1:6.18.51-120.162.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2026-3187 |
Advisories 8
- USN-9021-1 linux-raspi vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 12, 2026
- WID-SEC-2026-3579 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-9020-1 linux-aws-7.0, linux-azure-fde, linux-azure-fde-7.0, linux-gcp-7.0, linux-gke, linux-oracle-7.0, linux-realtime vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-8959-1 linux, linux-aws, linux-gcp, linux-hwe-7.0, linux-ibm, linux-oracle vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-9019-1 linux-azure vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-8960-1 linux-oem-7.0 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 12, 2026
- ALAS2023-2026-3187 Important: kernel6.18 security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Oct 12, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:11893-1 kernel-devel-7.2.8-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Sep 29, 2026