VulnerabilityPublished 14 Oct 2026Updated 19 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-98414: Linux kernel · memcg: avoid charging the root memcg from obj_cgroup_charge_pages()

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · fixed in ecc03877b1b05cb1e3a72175ccb868383eccc518 : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

Severity

Low

Rated Low by Threat Radar's AI analysis · 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.
Patch: Available – fixed in ecc03877b1b05cb1e3a72175ccb868383eccc518, d5cdff14c385bf42d03c0dd4c3e88ddf4c28b8a9, 6e673d0879ef78c395cfe0d3ba316690a60055d8

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 14 Oct 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

Upgrade Linux kernel to ecc03877b1b05cb1e3a72175ccb868383eccc518, d5cdff14c385bf42d03c0dd4c3e88ddf4c28b8a9 or 6e673d0879ef78c395cfe0d3ba316690a60055d8.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 20d6c17252282c3af261d1cde8e34def1b2458c8, < ecc03877b1b05cb1e3a72175ccb868383eccc518	Fixed in ecc03877b1b05cb1e3a72175ccb868383eccc518
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 20d6c17252282c3af261d1cde8e34def1b2458c8, < d5cdff14c385bf42d03c0dd4c3e88ddf4c28b8a9	Fixed in d5cdff14c385bf42d03c0dd4c3e88ddf4c28b8a9
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 20d6c17252282c3af261d1cde8e34def1b2458c8, < 6e673d0879ef78c395cfe0d3ba316690a60055d8	Fixed in 6e673d0879ef78c395cfe0d3ba316690a60055d8
LinuxLinux	Affected =6.15	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

A fix for this vulnerability has been applied in the Linux kernel. The patch uses try_charge() to avoid charging the root memcg, restoring symmetric memory accounting. Users should update to a Linux kernel version that includes the fix identified by commits ecc03877b1b05cb1e3a72175ccb868383eccc518, d5cdff14c385bf42d03c0dd4c3e88ddf4c28b8a9, or 6e673d0879ef78c395cfe0d3ba316690a60055d8. No additional mitigation actions are required beyond applying the official fix.

Description

CVE-2026-98414 is a vulnerability in the Linux kernel's memory control group (memcg) subsystem where the root memcg can be incorrectly charged for memory usage due to asymmetric accounting in obj_cgroup_charge_pages(). This leads to a memory charge leak in the root memcg, which is not user-visible but causes the root's page counter to grow without being uncharged. The issue is triggered through specific sequences involving zswap and cgroup task migration. A patch has been applied to fix this by using try_charge() to avoid charging the root memcg, restoring symmetry in accounting.

Impact

The vulnerability causes an internal memory charge leak in the root memcg due to asymmetric memory accounting. Although this leak is not visible to users because memory.current is not exposed on the root memcg, it can lead to inaccurate memory usage statistics and potential resource accounting issues within the kernel. There is no indication of direct user impact such as privilege escalation or denial of service from the provided data.

Summary

The vulnerability in Linux kernel memcg involves obj_cgroup_charge_pages() incorrectly charging the root memcg because obj_cgroup_is_root() checks a stale memcg pointer while memcg_reparent_objcgs() updates it. This causes memory folios to be charged to the root memcg asymmetrically, as uncharging skips the root memcg, resulting in a leak. The flaw can be reproduced using zswap with a sequence of allocating anonymous memory in a child cgroup, migrating the task to root, removing the child cgroup, and triggering memory reclaim on the root. The patch replaces try_charge_memcg() with try_charge(), which short-circuits charging the root memcg, fixing the leak. The fix is confirmed by tests and removes kernel warnings triggered by the flaw.

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 26 Oct 2026, 11:20 UTC

Technical details

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