mm/page_alloc: fix initialization of tags of the huge zero folio with init_on_free
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 1 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-908 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/page_alloc: fix initialization of tags of the huge zero folio with init_on_free __GFP_ZEROTAGS semantics are currently a bit weird, but effectively this flag is only ever set alongside __GFP_ZERO and __GFP_SKIP_KASAN. If we run with init_on_free, we will zero out pages during __free_pages_prepare(), to skip zeroing on the allocation path. However, when allocating with __GFP_ZEROTAG set, post_alloc_hook() will consequently not only skip clearing page content, but also skip clearing tag memory. Not clearing tags through __GFP_ZEROTAGS is irrelevant for most pages that will get mapped to user space through set_pte_at() later: set_pte_at() and friends will detect that the tags have not been initialized yet (PG_mte_tagged not set), and initialize them. However, for the huge zero folio, which will be mapped through a PMD marked as special, this initialization will not be performed, ending up exposing whatever tags were still set for the pages. The docs (Documentation/arch/arm64/memory-tagging-extension.rst) state that allocation tags are set to 0 when a page is first mapped to user space. That no longer holds with the huge zero folio when init_on_free is enabled. Fix it by decoupling __GFP_ZEROTAGS from __GFP_ZERO, passing to tag_clear_highpages() whether we want to also clear page content. Invert the meaning of the tag_clear_highpages() return value to have clearer semantics. Reproduced with the huge zero folio by modifying the check_buffer_fill arm64/mte selftest to use a 2 MiB area, after making sure that pages have a non-0 tag set when freeing (note that, during boot, we will not actually initialize tags, but only set KASAN_TAG_KERNEL in the page flags). $ ./check_buffer_fill 1..20 ... not ok 17 Check initial tags with private mapping, sync error mode and mmap memory not ok 18 Check initial tags with private mapping, sync error mode and mmap/mprotect memory ... This code needs more cleanups; we'll tackle that next, like decoupling __GFP_ZEROTAGS from __GFP_SKIP_KASAN. [[email protected]: s/__GPF_ZERO/__GFP_ZERO/, per David]
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.18 and later | 6.18.34, 7.0.11, 7.1 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.18 and later Fixed in 6.18.34, 7.0.11, 7.1 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 8
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.18.1 to before 6.18.34; 6.19 to before 7.0.11 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.18:-:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.18 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.18:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.18 rc6 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.18:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.18 rc7 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.1 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.1 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.1 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.1 rc4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.18.1 to before 6.18.34; 6.19 to before 7.0.11 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.18:-:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.18 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.18:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.18 rc6 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.18:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.18 rc7 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.1 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.1 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.1 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.1 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.18.34, 7.0.11, 7.1
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
Not affected: 4 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-64130
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-jjh5-mvrv-5xmg
References
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Sources
- CVE-2026-64130 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-64130 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-jjh5-mvrv-5xmg · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-64130 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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