Memory exhaustion via leaked mtdoops page bitmaps
Published Sep 16, 2026 · Updated Sep 16, 2026
Memory leak in the Linux kernel mtdoops driver allows attackers to consume kernel memory by repeatedly re-registering an MTD device. mtdoops_notify_remove() leaves oops_page_used allocated, so mtdoops_notify_add() overwrites the only pointer with a new vmalloc bitmap after reattachment. Exposure requires mtdoops to remain loaded while its configured backing MTD device can disappear and return; ordinary static MTD configurations are not affected.
Summary
What happened
Memory leak in the Linux kernel mtdoops driver allows attackers to consume kernel memory by repeatedly re-registering an MTD device. mtdoops_notify_remove() leaves oops_page_used allocated, so mtdoops_notify_add() overwrites the only pointer with a new vmalloc bitmap after reattachment. Exposure requires mtdoops to remain loaded while its configured backing MTD device can disappear and return; ordinary static MTD configurations are not affected.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-89953
- Published
- Sep 16, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 16, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 16, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 16, 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.
- Affected versionversion=2.6.33
- Affected versionversion=be95745f01677245a061a8f51473ef5ec8ad008e <1e5cd8bc902331ff801df88cbb299029ae062753
- Affected versionversion=be95745f01677245a061a8f51473ef5ec8ad008e <477d61d54e097e90f748aa18d013805abd56bcbd
- Affected versionversion=be95745f01677245a061a8f51473ef5ec8ad008e <698944132083d143ef965c0090ee14ba1d9e1a5f
- Affected versionversion=be95745f01677245a061a8f51473ef5ec8ad008e <8414f0e9f707226de20b48c7048179fd86d352fc
- Affected versionversion=be95745f01677245a061a8f51473ef5ec8ad008e <956e7da12c114f13c63d126ab1d79c3b6a819060
- Affected versionversion=be95745f01677245a061a8f51473ef5ec8ad008e <a91ac71e67c3e01ed9afd9841435bebb930293f8
- Affected versionversion=be95745f01677245a061a8f51473ef5ec8ad008e <d06f91a52af11630c9f7e487f6daf242ac310cb8
- Affected versionversion=be95745f01677245a061a8f51473ef5ec8ad008e <f25c804947e0a28c15e73da8e2e0db959cbed716
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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