Copyright © 2012 Red Hat, Inc. All rights reserved. Low 2026-08-15T00:00:00 kernel: fs/proc/task_mmu: fix hugetlb self-deadlock in pagemap_scan_pte_hole() 5.5 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H CWE-833

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs/proc/task_mmu: fix hugetlb self-deadlock in pagemap_scan_pte_hole() A PAGEMAP_SCAN ioctl requesting PM_SCAN_WP_MATCHING on a hugetlb VMA hangs the calling thread, unkillably, as soon as the scan reaches an unpopulated part of the range: do_pagemap_scan() walk_page_range() walk_hugetlb_range() hugetlb_vma_lock_read() # take the vma lock for read ... pagemap_scan_pte_hole() # ... ->pte_hole() for a hole uffd_wp_range() change_protection() hugetlb_change_protection() hugetlb_vma_lock_write() # ... and block taking it for write walk_hugetlb_range() holds the hugetlb vma lock for read across the whole walk. A present entry goes to ->hugetlb_entry(); an unpopulated one goes to ->pte_hole(), i.e. pagemap_scan_pte_hole(). To write-protect the hole that handler calls uffd_wp_range(), which on a hugetlb VMA reaches hugetlb_change_protection() and takes the same vma lock for write. The thread then blocks in down_write() waiting for the read lock it is itself holding. The populated path avoids this: pagemap_scan_hugetlb_entry() write-protects the entry inline under the page-table lock and never enters hugetlb_change_protection(). Do the same for holes. Fault in the page table and install the uffd-wp marker directly with make_uffd_wp_huge_pte() under the page-table lock, rather than routing through uffd_wp_range(). That is the same sequence hugetlb_change_protection() runs for an unpopulated entry, minus the vma write lock -- which is safe to skip because PMD sharing is disabled on uffd-wp VMAs (hugetlb_unshare_all_pmds() runs at registration), leaving nothing for that lock to serialise against.

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel. A local attacker could trigger a self-deadlock condition within the huge pages (hugetlb) memory management subsystem. This occurs when a specific memory scan operation attempts to acquire a write lock while the same process already holds a read lock, causing the affected thread to hang indefinitely. This vulnerability leads to a denial of service, making the system unresponsive.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Fix deferred kernel Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Out of support scope kernel Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Not affected kernel Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Not affected kernel-rt Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Not affected kernel Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Not affected kernel-rt Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Not affected kernel Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Not affected kernel-rt https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-72174 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-72174 https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/2026081538-CVE-2026-72174-4980@gregkh/T