CVE-2026-72180

Local write-protection bypass via lost UFFD flag

Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026

Improper permission preservation in Linux 6.19 allows local users to bypass UFFD write protection on device-private huge pages. The change_non_present_huge_pmd() path rewrites a writable device-private PMD swap entry as readable without copying its pmd_swp_uffd_wp bit, so swap-in misses the expected trap. Reachability requires local low-privileged access, a UFFD_WP-marked device-private transparent huge page, and an mprotect() downgrade; the bounded result is loss of the intended write-protection trap.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.20%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper permission preservation in Linux 6.19 allows local users to bypass UFFD write protection on device-private huge pages. The change_non_present_huge_pmd() path rewrites a writable device-private PMD swap entry as readable without copying its pmd_swp_uffd_wp bit, so swap-in misses the expected trap. Reachability requires local low-privileged access, a UFFD_WP-marked device-private transparent huge page, and an mprotect() downgrade; the bounded result is loss of the intended write-protection trap.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-72180
Published
Aug 15, 2026
Updated
Aug 15, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-281
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 15, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 15, 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?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=368076f52ebeecd33e10a9f80905d7508b6b6149 <2611f7521c6c124b1bef1be4fc319e0ca144502f
  2. Affected versionversion=368076f52ebeecd33e10a9f80905d7508b6b6149 <f7e2c21bd1f57cd5350eecdfdb5d6025ca6afbab
  3. Affected versionversion=6.19

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=368076f52ebeecd33e10a9f80905d7508b6b6149 <2611f7521c6c124b1bef1be4fc319e0ca144502f; version=368076f52ebeecd33e10a9f80905d7508b6b6149 <f7e2c21bd1f57cd5350eecdfdb5d6025ca6afbab; version=6.19

Published CVSS scores

5.5Red HatCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-281Improper Preservation of Permissions

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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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