CVE-2026-68172
HighIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: arm64: make huge_ptep_get handled unaligned addresses huge_ptep_get() can be handed a virtual address pointing to the middle of a contpmd/contpte mapped hugetlb folio (examples of callers are pagemap_hugetlb_range, page_mapped_in_vma). The arm64 helper rewalks the pgtables in find_num_contig to answer whether the huge pte we have maps a contpmd or a contpte hugetlb folio, and returns CONT_PMDS or CONT_PTES, so that it can collect a/d bits over the contiguous ptes. We can falsely return CONT_PTES instead of CONT_PMDS if the addr is not aligned. On systems where CONT_PTES != CONT_PMDS (meaning page size is 16K), we could collect excess A/D bit state, meaning extra work for the kernel. Even worse, we may iterate beyond the PTE table and dereference a garbage ptep pointer to access physical memory we don't own. Since the ptep pointer is a linear map address, we may run off the end of the linear map or into a hole, dereference a VA not mapped into the kernel pgtables and cause kernel panic. Fix this by aligning the pmdp pointer down to a contpmd base before checking equality with the passed huge pte pointer, to correctly answer whether the huge pte is the base of a contpmd block.
CVSS 3.1 score
7.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
6.16
and later are affected. Fixed in
6.18.42,
7.1.6,
7.2
and their respective stable series.
References
3 totalFrequently asked questions
-
What is CVE-2026-68172?
CVE-2026-68172 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.1 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.16 onward and has been patched in 6.18.42, 7.1.6 and 7.2. CVE-2026-68172 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
-
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-68172?
CVE-2026-68172 has a CVSS score of 7.1 out of 10, rated High severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H. -
Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-68172?
Yes. CVE-2026-68172 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.18.42, 7.1.6 and 7.2. If you are running Linux kernel 6.16 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
-
Is CVE-2026-68172 actively exploited?
No. CVE-2026-68172 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.