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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2026-97525: Linux kernel · x86/mm/pat: Allocate split page tables as kernel page tables

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

0

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.2 High · fixed in 922873cf4fc34124215070a8ad391bf831538bb9 : patch Linux kernel soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
8.2High
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 6% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch
Available – fixed in 922873cf4fc34124215070a8ad391bf831538bb9, 84e0cd79d57f06b872154eb5d8f610584133f260, 9e4a3ec3411bb6bb59e3c1f29b75609f1e87aac4 +1
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 25 Sep 2026

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq 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 Linux kernel to 922873cf4fc34124215070a8ad391bf831538bb9, 84e0cd79d57f06b872154eb5d8f610584133f260, 9e4a3ec3411bb6bb59e3c1f29b75609f1e87aac4 or 6.18.53.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • >=6.18.7 <6.18.53
Fixed in
  • 922873cf4fc34124215070a8ad391bf831538bb9
  • 84e0cd79d57f06b872154eb5d8f610584133f260
  • 9e4a3ec3411bb6bb59e3c1f29b75609f1e87aac4
  • 6.18.53
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • =6.19
Fixed in–

AI-suggested

A fix is available in Linux kernel version 6.18.53 and later. Users and administrators should upgrade affected Linux kernel versions (>=6.18.7 <6.18.53 and =6.19) to 6.18.53 or newer to remediate this issue. No additional mitigation steps are indicated beyond applying the official patch.

Description

CVE-2026-97525 is a high-severity vulnerability in the Linux kernel's x86 memory management related to page attribute table (PAT) handling. The issue arises because split page tables are allocated without using the standard kernel page table allocation routines, causing them not to be marked as kernel page tables. This leads to stale IOTLB cache entries since these split page tables are freed without proper invalidation. The flaw affects Linux kernel versions from 6.18.7 up to but not including 6.18.53, and version 6.19. A fix has been implemented in version 6.18.53 and later.

References

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