Kernel panic via read-only swap error write
Published Feb 18, 2026 · Updated Feb 18, 2026
Denial of service in Linux Kernel 6.18 through 6.18.8 allows local users to panic the kernel during memory reclamation. The swap code marks swap_space read-only, then an arch_prepare_to_swap failure makes __filemap_set_wb_err write an error into that mapping. A low-privileged local user must induce heavy memory pressure and the architecture-specific preparation failure; the resulting panic interrupts the entire host.
Summary
What happened
Denial of service in Linux Kernel 6.18 through 6.18.8 allows local users to panic the kernel during memory reclamation. The swap code marks swap_space read-only, then an arch_prepare_to_swap failure makes __filemap_set_wb_err write an error into that mapping. A low-privileged local user must induce heavy memory pressure and the architecture-specific preparation failure; the resulting panic interrupts the entire host.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-23211
- Published
- Feb 18, 2026
- Updated
- Feb 18, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Feb 18, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Feb 18, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=6.18
- Affected versionversion=8b47299a411a178d572aaac31ff7ab33a8bd27e2 <a0f3c0845a4ff68d403c568266d17e9cc553e561
- Affected versionversion=8b47299a411a178d572aaac31ff7ab33a8bd27e2 <b0020cbd26380177b9fb8b7e75a8f7bdba79db20
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Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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