Boot panic via premature page-table work scheduling
Published Oct 26, 2026 · Updated Oct 26, 2026
A boot-time NULL dereference in Linux 7.3-rc4 memory management allows attackers to panic the kernel via function-tracer boot settings. When tracer trampoline protection causes page-table collapse, pagetable_free_kernel() schedules deferred freeing before system_percpu_wq exists. The documented trigger requires boot-time function tracing with a filter such as pud_free_pmd_page; the resulting panic prevents boot completion, with no demonstrated disclosure or code execution.
Summary
What happened
A boot-time NULL dereference in Linux 7.3-rc4 memory management allows attackers to panic the kernel via function-tracer boot settings. When tracer trampoline protection causes page-table collapse, pagetable_free_kernel() schedules deferred freeing before system_percpu_wq exists. The documented trigger requires boot-time function tracing with a filter such as pud_free_pmd_page; the resulting panic prevents boot completion, with no demonstrated disclosure or code execution.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-99093
- Published
- Oct 26, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 26, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 26, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Oct 26, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=6.18.53 <6.18.57
- Affected versionversion=7.2.7 <7.2.11
- Affected versionversion=84e0cd79d57f06b872154eb5d8f610584133f260 <7a25ca170c12a9328f6fcf4410713beb516b01c0
- Affected versionversion=922873cf4fc34124215070a8ad391bf831538bb9 <df6c704a08bc0925d5db047b0a6221f962bda4d9
- Affected versionversion=9e4a3ec3411bb6bb59e3c1f29b75609f1e87aac4 <2fb552b0bee70c24c092720028ab4620f5eb2646
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
No sourced classifications are available.
Public exploit references
- Upstream boot-time function-tracer panic reproducerproof of concept · demonstrated
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Get started to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Contact us