CVE-2026-53342

What it is

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: arm64: mm: call pagetable dtor when freeing hot-removed page tables Since 5e8eb9aeeda3 ("arm64: mm: always call PTE/PMD ctor in __create_pgd_mapping()") page-table allocation on ARM64 always calls pagetable_{pte,pmd,pud,p4d}_ctor(). This sets the page_type to PGTY_table, increments NR_PAGETABLE and possible allocates a PTL. However the matching pagetable_dtor() calls were never added. With DEBUG_VM enabled on kernel versions prior to v6.17 without 2dfcd1608f3a9 ("mm/page_alloc: let page freeing clear any set page type") this leads to the following warning when freeing these pages due to page->page_type sharing page->_mapcount: BUG: Bad page state in process ... pfn:284fbb page: refcount:0 mapcount:0 mapping:0000000000000000 index:0x0 pfn:0x284fbb flags: 0x17fffc000000000(node=0|zone=2|lastcpupid=0x1ffff) page_type: f2(table) page dumped because: nonzero mapcount Call trace: bad_page+0x13c/0x160 __free_frozen_pages+0x6cc/0x860 ___free_pages+0xf4/0x180 free_pages+0x54/0x80 free_hotplug_page_range.part.0+0x58/0x90 free_empty_tables+0x438/0x500 __remove_pgd_mapping.constprop.0+0x60/0xa8 arch_remove_memory+0x48/0x80 try_remove_memory+0x158/0x1d8 offline_and_remove_memory+0x138/0x180 It can also lead to leaking the ptl allocation if ALLOC_SPLIT_PTLOCKS is defined and incorrect NR_PAGETABLE stats. Fix this by calling pagetable_dtor() in free_hotplug_pgtable_page() prior to freeing the page to undo the effects of calling pagetable_*_ctor().

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited locally on the machine with a low-privilege account. High risk of service disruption.

Exploit odds

0.2% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

1. 2026-07-01 14:16 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-07-23 21:32 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

• Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
• Exploit odds: 0.2% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
• Severity: 5.5 MEDIUM (CVSS).
• Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published

2026-07-01 14:16 UTC

Last modified

2026-07-23 21:32 UTC

Exploit probability

0.2% · EPSS, next 30 days

Record status

Analyzed

Affected

• Linux Kernel < 6.18.36
• Linux Kernel < 7.0.13
• Linux Kernel 7.1

Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 5.5

Attack vector

Local

Complexity

Low

Privileges needed

Low

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

None

Availability

High

Is it in your code?

Hand this to your coding agent. It searches your project for the affected products and checks versions. Nothing leaves your machine.

Read https://cve-list.com/agent/cve/CVE-2026-53342.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2026-53342. Read only. Don't change anything and don't upload my code. Tell me yes, no or not sure, with the file as proof.

Copy as ticket · More options · Status badge