PCP corruption via interrupt-nested spin locking
Published Jan 31, 2026 · Updated Jan 31, 2026
Memory corruption in affected Linux kernel releases allows local users to corrupt per-CPU page state through interrupt-nested locking. In mm/page_alloc.c, drain_pages_zone() holds pcp->lock without disabling interrupts, while an interrupt can enter spin_trylock() on the same lock; an SMP-disabled build incorrectly assumes that trylock always succeeds. Exploitation requires a local low-privileged context and a kernel built with CONFIG_SMP disabled; lock debugging reports a failure, while an unchecked occurrence corrupts the PCP structure.
Summary
What happened
Memory corruption in affected Linux kernel releases allows local users to corrupt per-CPU page state through interrupt-nested locking. In mm/page_alloc.c, drain_pages_zone() holds pcp->lock without disabling interrupts, while an interrupt can enter spin_trylock() on the same lock; an SMP-disabled build incorrectly assumes that trylock always succeeds. Exploitation requires a local low-privileged context and a kernel built with CONFIG_SMP disabled; lock debugging reports a failure, while an unchecked occurrence corrupts the PCP structure.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-23025
- Published
- Jan 31, 2026
- Updated
- Jan 31, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jan 31, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jan 31, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=5749077415994eb02d660b2559b9d8278521e73d <038a102535eb49e10e93eafac54352fcc5d78847
- Affected versionversion=5749077415994eb02d660b2559b9d8278521e73d <3098f8f7c7b0686c74827aec42a2c45e69801ff8
- Affected versionversion=5749077415994eb02d660b2559b9d8278521e73d <4a04ff9cd816e7346fcc8126f00ed80481f6569d
- Affected versionversion=5749077415994eb02d660b2559b9d8278521e73d <df63d31e9ae02e2f6cd96147779e4ed7cd0e75f6
- Affected versionversion=6.2
- Affected versionversion=d1da921452b3ee7e07383c12955ab1c6f3b08752
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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Public exploit references
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Technologies
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