VulnerabilityPublished 17 Sep 2026Updated 5 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-90201: Linux kernel · net: page_pool: fix UAF in __page_pool_release_netmem_dma on xa_cmpxchg race

Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database

Not known to be exploited.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 13:47 UTC

Severity

Medium

Rated by Threat Radar · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 10% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 17 Sep 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.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected 6.17.0-5.5 – 7.0.0-38.38 23 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-aws`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected 6.17.0-1002.2 – 7.0.0-1014.14 15 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azure`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected 6.17.0-1003.3 – 7.0.0-1017.17 15 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azure-fde`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-fde?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected 7.0.0-1003.3 – 7.0.0-1016.16 9 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gcp`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gcp?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected 6.17.0-1002.2 – 7.0.0-1014.14 13 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gke`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gke?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected 7.0.0-1002.3 – 7.0.0-1008.9 6 affected builds	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 fix has been implemented in the Linux kernel to address this vulnerability by restructuring the DMA release functions to prevent use-after-free conditions. Users should apply the updated kernel versions containing this fix. Patch status is confirmed by the vendor advisory indicating resolution. No additional mitigation steps are required beyond updating to a fixed kernel version.

Description

A use-after-free (UAF) vulnerability in the Linux kernel's page_pool subsystem was resolved. The flaw occurs due to a race condition in __page_pool_release_netmem_dma triggered during concurrent page pool operations on different CPUs, leading to access of freed memory. This issue was discovered during testing of the hns3 driver under specific network reconfiguration scenarios on arm64. The fix involves splitting the DMA release logic into two functions to ensure safe memory access depending on whether a page reference is held.

Impact

The vulnerability can lead to use-after-free conditions in kernel memory management, potentially causing system instability or crashes. No known exploits in the wild have been reported. The impact is limited to affected Linux kernel versions running on arm64 architectures under specific concurrent network driver operations.

Summary

CVE-2026-90201 is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's page_pool component related to the __page_pool_release_netmem_dma function. The race condition arises when page_pool_destroy() runs page_pool_scrub() concurrently with page return via page_pool_put_netmem() on separate CPUs. The unref path calls put_page() unconditionally, potentially freeing a page before the scrub path finishes accessing netmem fields, causing a UAF. The fix splits DMA release into __page_pool_unmap_netmem_dma(), which safely unmaps DMA without touching netmem fields after cmpxchg, and __page_pool_release_netmem_dma(), which clears netmem fields only when a page reference is held. This prevents the scrub path from accessing freed memory.

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 24 Oct 2026, 21:53 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats