CVE-2026-97943: Linux kernel · x86/mm/pat: Acquire init_mm write lock on collapse to avoid UAF
Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited.
Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC
Rated by Threat Radar · CVSS not yet scored by NVD
- EPSS
- 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 9% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Exploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 25 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.
What to do
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 fix is available that acquires the init_mm write lock during the collapse operation to prevent use-after-free and race conditions. Users should update to patched versions of the linux-hwe-edge kernel that include this fix. Since this is a kernel-level issue, applying the official kernel updates from the vendor is the recommended remediation.
Description
A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's x86 page attribute modification logic was resolved by acquiring the init_mm write lock during page table collapse operations. This issue could cause races and use-after-free conditions when collapsing kernel page table entries into huge pages, particularly affecting components like ptdump that walk page tables concurrently. The vulnerability affects specific linux-hwe-edge kernel versions and has been fixed by ensuring proper locking.
References
- ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-97943 (opens in a new tab)
- cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-97943 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/a1c7570cedd03372812a5b693732880867babbca (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/93b98882198b15bd482da1fe8e84b05c7c3b3d83 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/35820cf8dd521f5a651e221483015b0586794516 (opens in a new tab)