CVE-2026-72412

Guest corruption via stale page-discard bit

Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026

Improper page-table bit handling in Linux 7.0 allows local users to corrupt s390 KVM guest memory by reusing unmapped pages. The set_pte() path failed to clear _PAGE_UNUSED when installing a present PTE, so try_to_unmap_one() or try_to_migrate_one() later discarded a reused page as unused. Reachability requires an s390 host running KVM and the affected page-unmap and reuse sequence; the bounded consequence is corruption inside a guest.

CVSS severity9.3
Critical
EPSS probability0.18%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper page-table bit handling in Linux 7.0 allows local users to corrupt s390 KVM guest memory by reusing unmapped pages. The set_pte() path failed to clear _PAGE_UNUSED when installing a present PTE, so try_to_unmap_one() or try_to_migrate_one() later discarded a reused page as unused. Reachability requires an s390 host running KVM and the affected page-unmap and reuse sequence; the bounded consequence is corruption inside a guest.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-72412
Published
Aug 15, 2026
Updated
Aug 15, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-911
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

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=7.0
  2. Affected versionversion=c98175b7917fa81cd499b1527c4a57fd7d36711e <d4bb00704a66024502261fa7a523c07420249fea
  3. Affected versionversion=c98175b7917fa81cd499b1527c4a57fd7d36711e <fda07c8e4b54b9105f1ca73f0adea7b244d405f4

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=7.0; version=c98175b7917fa81cd499b1527c4a57fd7d36711e <d4bb00704a66024502261fa7a523c07420249fea; version=c98175b7917fa81cd499b1527c4a57fd7d36711e <fda07c8e4b54b9105f1ca73f0adea7b244d405f4

Published CVSS scores

9.3Linux CNA via cve.orgCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
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.

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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
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-911Improper Update of Reference Count

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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