CVE-2026-64416: Linux kernel · mm: swap_cgroup: fix NULL deref in lookup_swap_cgroup_id on swapless host
Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium · fixed in 7.0.0-1012.12~24.04.1 : update Linux kernel when convenient.
Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC
- EPSS
- 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 1% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
- Patch
- Available – fixed in 7.0.0-1012.12~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1011.11~24.04.1, 7.0.0-31.31~24.04.1 +7
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 25 Jul 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.
What to do
Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinuxpkg:deb/ubuntu/linux?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in
|
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-awspkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in
|
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azurepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azure-fdepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-fde?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gcppkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gcp?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in
|
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gkepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gke?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in
|
Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.
AI-suggested
A patch is available and should be applied by updating to the fixed linux-hwe-edge kernel versions 7.0.0-31.31 and later as specified in the Ubuntu security advisories USN-8726-1 and USN-8727-1. After updating, a system reboot is required to apply the kernel fixes. Due to an ABI change, third-party kernel modules must be recompiled and reinstalled. No additional mitigation is required beyond applying the official kernel updates.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm: swap_cgroup: fix NULL deref in lookup_swap_cgroup_id on swapless host lookup_swap_cgroup_id() passes swap_cgroup_ctrl[type].map to __swap_cgroup_id_lookup() without checking that the type was ever registered via swap_cgroup_swapon(). On a swapless host every ctrl->map is NULL, so __swap_cgroup_id_lookup() dereferences NULL + a scaled swp_offset(). Since commit bea67dcc5eea ("mm: attempt to batch free swap entries for zap_pte_range()"), zap_pte_range() -> swap_pte_batch() calls lookup_swap_cgroup_id() on any non-present, non-none PTE that decodes as a real swap entry, without first validating it against swap_info[]. A single PTE corrupted into a type-0 swap entry takes the host down at process exit. We hit this in production on a swapless 6.12.58 host: ~1s of "get_swap_device: Bad swap file entry 3f800204222bb" (do_swap_page() being correctly defensive about the same entry) followed by BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: 000003f800204220 RIP: 0010:lookup_swap_cgroup_id+0x2b/0x60 Call Trace: swap_pte_batch+0xbf/0x230 zap_pte_range+0x4c8/0x780 unmap_page_range+0x190/0x3e0 exit_mmap+0xd9/0x3c0 do_exit+0x20c/0x4b0 syzbot has reported the identical stack. The source of the PTE corruption is a separate bug; this change makes the teardown path as robust as the fault path already is. Every other caller of lookup_swap_cgroup_id() is downstream of a get_swap_device() that has already validated the entry, so the new branch is cold.
References
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-64416 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/63b02a9409cb5180398491b093e48bcb5315f5fb (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/6a4196d19f477524d2f92adca90fc1fbe9a0420a (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/818416fef38759f23210de449663cd9d7e293d39 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/b415c00bf23df577a4a95673d00ae76687bcc1d4 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-64416 (opens in a new tab)
- cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-64416 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/linus/63b02a9409cb5180398491b093e48bcb5315f5fb (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8726-1 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8727-1 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8728-1 (opens in a new tab)