VulnerabilityPublished 23 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-98939: Linux kernel · x86/mm: Drop unnecessary PMD page copy when freeing

Source GCVE Database

Authoritative record:CVE-2026-98939· Medium

Not known to be exploited · fixed in f38c57a28ebbd057471573e39555d5aa11ab03cf : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

Severity

Medium

Rated by Threat Radar · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 5% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in f38c57a28ebbd057471573e39555d5aa11ab03cf, e3ee38c1bc0b11a8d3e63dce7050759b61864286, d3c2d2692bdf4af94bb27bc7a3aa0a348a567606 +2

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 23 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.

ghsa-6vp7-hj7x-73jj

What to do

Upgrade Linux to f38c57a28ebbd057471573e39555d5aa11ab03cf, e3ee38c1bc0b11a8d3e63dce7050759b61864286 or d3c2d2692bdf4af94bb27bc7a3aa0a348a567606; Linux to 7.2.10 or 6.18.56.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ cc73b2043d106b467accd38e9b1fc09e0607c056, < f38c57a28ebbd057471573e39555d5aa11ab03cf	Fixed in f38c57a28ebbd057471573e39555d5aa11ab03cf
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ d5d8b8662e6e5a565b47a0388640e88402f23274, < e3ee38c1bc0b11a8d3e63dce7050759b61864286	Fixed in e3ee38c1bc0b11a8d3e63dce7050759b61864286
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ e21a9ea81426a85fdb0cdcfcc99d5d9c16b402ab, < d3c2d2692bdf4af94bb27bc7a3aa0a348a567606	Fixed in d3c2d2692bdf4af94bb27bc7a3aa0a348a567606
LinuxLinux	Affected >=7.2.7 <7.2.10	Fixed in 7.2.10
LinuxLinux	Affected >=6.18.53 <6.18.56	Fixed in 6.18.56

AI-suggested

A fix has been implemented in the Linux kernel that removes the problematic PMD page copy and associated locking issue. Users should update to the fixed kernel version once available. No additional mitigation steps are indicated.

Description

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel related to x86 memory management was resolved by removing an unnecessary PMD page copy during page freeing. The issue caused a possible deadlock on systems with discrete GPUs due to a circular locking dependency involving mmap locks and memory reclaim operations. The fix detaches the original PMD page earlier and frees page tables without additional allocations, eliminating the locking cycle.

References

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