mm/huge_memory: unlock i_mmap_rwsem before releasing after-split folios
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 3 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/huge_memory: unlock i_mmap_rwsem before releasing after-split folios __folio_split() keeps dereferencing the mapping after the split: shmem_uncharge(mapping->host) and remap_page() while the folios are still frozen/locked, and i_mmap_unlock_read(mapping) at the very end, after the after-split folios have been unlocked and freed. Nothing holds an inode reference across that. The split relies on @folio -- which the beyond-EOF drop loop never removes, as it starts at folio_next(folio) -- staying locked and in the page cache to hold off eviction. But the unlock loop unlocks @folio before i_mmap_unlock_read() runs. If the caller's @lock_at is a tail beyond EOF, as memory_failure() passes when splitting a poisoned tail of a shmem THP that reaches past i_size during truncation, it too is gone from the page cache; so once @folio is unlocked no locked, in-cache folio pins the inode, and a concurrent final iput() can evict and RCU-free it before i_mmap_unlock_read() touches i_mmap_rwsem: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in __up_read+0x634/0x790 i_mmap_unlock_read include/linux/fs.h:537 [inline] __folio_split+0x732/0x1640 mm/huge_memory.c:4100 try_to_split_thp_page+0xab/0x390 mm/memory-failure.c:1675 memory_failure+0x1394/0x26e0 mm/memory-failure.c:2470 Freed by task 4601: shmem_free_in_core_inode+0x54/0xb0 mm/shmem.c:5177 evict+0x57f/0xac0 fs/inode.c:870 Do every mapping dereference while @folio still pins the inode: drop i_mmap_rwsem right after remap_page(), before the loop that unlocks and frees the after-split folios, and clear @mapping so the exit path does not unlock it again. shmem_uncharge() and remap_page() already run before that point, so after this nothing past the unlock loop touches the inode or the mapping. This is now a rule the split depends on, alongside keeping @folio frozen until the page cache is updated: no inode or mapping dereference once the after-split folios start being unlocked.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.265, 5.15.216, 6.1.183, 6.6.151, 6.12.103, 6.18.44, 7.1.8, 7.2
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-74482
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-2666-8p4f-7r6x
- 2026-10-18 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-27 CVSS score changed · Red Hat
References
Other 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bc2f5eabaaf60ec18da70b619a8fba1bfb7dea3a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f87c08060818ebb19bafed37c38244538da25097
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6f5c272d71845a669e4c8ee5c72b376e29a0e6e5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/be106f7855f03d3128ed0ce70ba74b484a90b473
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e3dd774dbfd0b5bc2dbd0995221751b1234f8205
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/10065fb891651d9541e7a5a2db84c1e656ece4f9
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d640efe94d86d3be893d4c19220362546a637e90
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e923bd21058ea02fd0dcd3549d151d143fd036e5
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Sources
- CVE-2026-74482 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-74482 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-2666-8p4f-7r6x · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-74482 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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