Answer in brief
CVE-2026-98939 records a Unknown severity vulnerability in x86/mm: Drop unnecessary PMD page copy when freeing. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
Analysis pending evidence review
HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.
A CVSS score is not reported in the current record. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.
Analysis status
Analysis pending evidence review
Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.
The current feed maps Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
| Package | Affected range | Fixed version |
|---|---|---|
| Linux/Linuxgeneric | >=e21a9ea81426a85fdb0cdcfcc99d5d9c16b402ab <d3c2d2692bdf4af94bb27bc7a3aa0a348a567606 || >=cc73b2043d106b467accd38e9b1fc09e0607c056 <f38c57a28ebbd057471573e39555d5aa11ab03cf || >=d5d8b8662e6e5a565b47a0388640e88402f23274 <e3ee38c1bc0b11a8d3e63dce7050759b61864286 | d3c2d2692bdf4af94bb27bc7a3aa0a348a567606, f38c57a28ebbd057471573e39555d5aa11ab03cf, e3ee38c1bc0b11a8d3e63dce7050759b61864286 |
| Linux/Linuxgeneric | >=6.18.53 <6.18.56 || >=7.2.7 <7.2.10 | 6.18.56, 7.2.10 |
Published upstream
Oct 23, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordSource modified
Oct 23, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordFirst seen by HOL
Oct 23, 2026
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: x86/mm: Drop unnecessary PMD page copy when freeing On a box with a discrete GPU, lockdep reports a possible deadlock as soon as kswapd shrinks the TTM page pool. The immediate cause is an x86 commit that added an mmap_read_lock() to kernel page protection munging code. The huge vmap code holds the same lock over a GFP_KERNEL allocation, which is a no-no now that reclaim can take it. That allocation is in a page table *free* path and ends up being for dubious purposes[1]. Basically, it tries to avoid hardware setting Accessed=1 in page table entries that are unreachable by the hardware, a non-issue. Remove the PMD copy. Detach the original PMD page at the PUD, flush the mid-level caches, and free the PTE tables straight from the detached PMD page. With no allocation left, the locking issue is gone. Lockdep splat/analysis: WARNING: possible circular locking dependency detected 7.3.0-rc3-f6e7b42bf05b+ #183 Tainted: G U ------------------------------------------------------ kswapd0/269 is trying to acquire lock: ((init_mm).mmap_lock){++++}-{4:4}, at: change_page_attr_set_clr+0x29a/0x4a0 but task is already holding lock: (pool_shrink_rwsem){.+.+}-{4:4}, at: ttm_pool_shrink+0xb2/0x330 [ttm] Chain exists of: (init_mm).mmap_lock --> fs_reclaim --> pool_shrink_rwsem The cycle is built from three edges: 1) pool_shrink_rwsem -> (init_mm).mmap_lock The TTM shrinker restores the caching attribute of every page it frees, while holding pool_shrink_rwsem: ttm_pool_shrink() -> ttm_pool_dispose_list() -> ttm_pool_free_page() -> set_pages_wb() -> change_page_attr_set_clr() [ init_mm mmap read lock ] 2) fs_reclaim -> pool_shrink_rwsem The same shrinker, called from reclaim. 3) (init_mm).mmap_lock -> fs_reclaim ioremap() installing a huge PUD mapping over an existing PMD table: ioremap_page_range() -> vmap_range_noflush() -> vmap_try_huge_pud() [ init_mm mmap read lock ] -> pud_free_pmd_page() -> __get_free_page(GFP_KERNEL) [ enters reclaim ] [ dhansen: Lots of changelog munging/trimming and merged comments from my version of the fix. ]
Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.