CVE-2020-10757Public exploit

Local privilege escalation via DAX PMD misclassification

Published Jun 9, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Type confusion in Linux Kernel after 4.5-rc1 allows local users with access to DAX storage to escalate privileges through mremap. move_page_tables in mm/mremap.c checks DAX huge PMDs only as transparent huge pages, then treats a 2 MB data page as a page table and copies its data as PTEs. A local account and DAX-enabled persistent storage are required; successful exploitation corrupts page tables and grants elevated privileges.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.99%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Type confusion in Linux Kernel after 4.5-rc1 allows local users with access to DAX storage to escalate privileges through mremap. move_page_tables in mm/mremap.c checks DAX huge PMDs only as transparent huge pages, then treats a 2 MB data page as a page table and copies its data as PTEs. A local account and DAX-enabled persistent storage are required; successful exploitation corrupts page tables and grants elevated privileges.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-10757
Published
Jun 9, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
CWE-843, CWE-119, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 9, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=All versions after 4.5-rc1.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=All versions after 4.5-rc1.

Published CVSS scores

6.9NIST NVDAV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-843Access of Resource Using Incompatible Type ('Type Confusion')
CWE-119Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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