CVE-2026-23375

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm: thp: deny THP for files on anonymous inodes file_thp_enabled() incorrectly allows THP for files on anonymous inodes (e.g. guest_memfd and secretmem). These files are created via alloc_file_pseudo(), which does not call get_write_access() and leaves inode->i_writecount at 0. Combined with S_ISREG(inode->i_mode) being true, they appear as read-only regular files when CONFIG_READ_ONLY_THP_FOR_FS is enabled, making them eligible for THP collapse. Anonymous inodes can never pass the inode_is_open_for_write() check since their i_writecount is never incremented through the normal VFS open path. The right thing to do is to exclude them from THP eligibility altogether, since CONFIG_READ_ONLY_THP_FOR_FS was designed for real filesystem files (e.g. shared libraries), not for pseudo-filesystem inodes. For guest_memfd, this allows khugepaged and MADV_COLLAPSE to create large folios in the page cache via the collapse path, but the guest_memfd fault handler does not support large folios. This triggers WARN_ON_ONCE(folio_test_large(folio)) in kvm_gmem_fault_user_mapping(). For secretmem, collapse_file() tries to copy page contents through the direct map, but secretmem pages are removed from the direct map. This can result in a kernel crash: BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffff88810284d000 RIP: 0010:memcpy_orig+0x16/0x130 Call Trace: collapse_file hpage_collapse_scan_file madvise_collapse Secretmem is not affected by the crash on upstream as the memory failure recovery handles the failed copy gracefully, but it still triggers confusing false memory failure reports: Memory failure: 0x106d96f: recovery action for clean unevictable LRU page: Recovered Check IS_ANON_FILE(inode) in file_thp_enabled() to deny THP for all anonymous inode files.

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2026-03-25
Last modified 2026-04-24
CVSS version 3.1
Patch available
Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

5.5

out of 10
Medium
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
High
Vector string
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness type

CWE-617

CVE-2026-23375 is classified as CWE-617

See CWE-617 on MITRE CWE for full details on this weakness type.

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 6.8 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.12.78, 6.18.17, 6.19.7, 7.0 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 6.8
Fixed in
✓ 6.12.78 6.12.x ✓ 6.18.17 6.18.x ✓ 6.19.7 6.19.x ✓ 7.0

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2026-23375 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2026-23375?

    CVE-2026-23375 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.8 onward and has been patched in 6.12.78, 6.18.17, 6.19.7 and others. CVE-2026-23375 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-23375?

    CVE-2026-23375 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H .

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-23375?

    Yes — CVE-2026-23375 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.12.78, 6.18.17, 6.19.7 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 6.8 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2026-23375 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2026-23375 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.