Kernel warning via double allocation-tag decrement
Published Sep 18, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026
Allocation-tag accounting error in Linux 6.10 through 6.10.9 allows local users to trigger a kernel warning through debugfs. free_pages_prepare isolates a PG_hwpoison page after decrementing its allocation-tag counter, but unpoison_memory later decrements the same counter again because the page retains its tag reference. Triggering requires privileged access to the hwpoison_inject debugfs control and an eligible poisoned page; the documented consequence is a warning and kernel taint, not a crash.
Summary
What happened
Allocation-tag accounting error in Linux 6.10 through 6.10.9 allows local users to trigger a kernel warning through debugfs. free_pages_prepare isolates a PG_hwpoison page after decrementing its allocation-tag counter, but unpoison_memory later decrements the same counter again because the page retains its tag reference. Triggering requires privileged access to the hwpoison_inject debugfs control and an eligible poisoned page; the documented consequence is a warning and kernel taint, not a crash.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-46790
- Published
- Sep 18, 2024
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- admin
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 18, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 11, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=6.10
- Affected versionversion=d224eb0287fbd84f4f13eca042c7f08f87138f3b <16ad36c8e66a26626e7d0224100b433483a2acef
- Affected versionversion=d224eb0287fbd84f4f13eca042c7f08f87138f3b <5e9784e997620af7c1399029282f5d6964b41942
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Technologies
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