CVE-2026-97942

Kernel crash via text-poking race

Published Sep 25, 2026 · Updated Sep 25, 2026

A race condition in x86 alternatives patching in Linux 6.15 allows attackers to crash the kernel during concurrent module activity. Text poking can race with change_page_attr(), causing vmalloc_to_page() to lose a required page before __text_poke reaches its BUG_ON check. The condition requires CONFIG_ARCH_HAS_EXECMEM_ROX and parallel memory-attribute changes by modules sharing an executable vmalloc range.

CVSS severityUnavailable
Unscored
EPSS probability0.20%
Next 30 days · Oct 19, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

A race condition in x86 alternatives patching in Linux 6.15 allows attackers to crash the kernel during concurrent module activity. Text poking can race with change_page_attr(), causing vmalloc_to_page() to lose a required page before __text_poke reaches its BUG_ON check. The condition requires CONFIG_ARCH_HAS_EXECMEM_ROX and parallel memory-attribute changes by modules sharing an executable vmalloc range.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-97942
Published
Sep 25, 2026
Updated
Sep 25, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1499
Attack vector
Unavailable
Privileges
Unavailable

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 25, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 25, 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=6.15
  2. Affected versionversion=64f6a4e10c05ed527f0f24b7954964255e0d3535 <1587d3394e254639cc36516256031334095e6ef3
  3. Affected versionversion=64f6a4e10c05ed527f0f24b7954964255e0d3535 <281e6f536f2f3f95d91938c5bd7ba9bcb4c1049d
  4. Affected versionversion=64f6a4e10c05ed527f0f24b7954964255e0d3535 <89c60435b90d32ab5e3a39da3ae73d463d07debe

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorUnavailable in this record.
Required privilegesUnavailable in this record.

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=6.15; version=64f6a4e10c05ed527f0f24b7954964255e0d3535 <1587d3394e254639cc36516256031334095e6ef3; version=64f6a4e10c05ed527f0f24b7954964255e0d3535 <281e6f536f2f3f95d91938c5bd7ba9bcb4c1049d; version=64f6a4e10c05ed527f0f24b7954964255e0d3535 <89c60435b90d32ab5e3a39da3ae73d463d07debe

Published CVSS scores

No CVSS assessment is available in this record.

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.

Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 22, 2026Sep 28, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 28, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
VectorUnavailable
PrivilegesUnavailable
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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