Linux kernel sets bogus shrinker bit when cgroup.memory=nokmem
Key facts
- Attack vector
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- Privileges required
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- User interaction
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- Attack complexity
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- Impact type
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- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
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- Fix status
- Fixed
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
The Linux kernel from 7.2 contains a flaw in shrinker ID handling. With cgroup.memory=nokmem, the shrinker keeps ID 0, which looks like a valid bit index, so queuing a transparent huge page in a cgroup triggers a kernel warning. The source describes the effect as harmless, because a bounds check prevents an out-of-bounds read.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
Description from the CNA
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/shrinker: fix bogus set_shrinker_bit() with cgroup.memory=nokmem With cgroup.memory=nokmem, shrinker_memcg_alloc() bails out early and never allocates an id, so shrinker->id keeps the 0 it got from the kzalloc() in shrinker_alloc(). __list_lru_init() then copies that 0 into lru->shrinker_id, where it looks like a valid bit index. Nothing calls expand_shrinker_info() on nokmem either, so shrinker_nr_max stays 0 and every memcg ends up with an empty map (map_nr_max == 0). deferred_split_folio() hands a real memcg to __list_lru_add() regardless of whether the lru is memcg aware, so the first THP queued in a cgroup does set_shrinker_bit(memcg, nid, 0) and trips the bounds check: WARNING: mm/shrinker.c:212 at set_shrinker_bit+0x7d/0x90, CPU#126 Call Trace: <TASK> deferred_split_folio+0x18c/0x220 map_anon_folio_pmd_nopf+0xdd/0x130 map_anon_folio_pmd_pf+0x14/0xb0 do_huge_pmd_anonymous_page+0x1a1/0x620 __handle_mm_fault+0xea9/0x10d0 handle_mm_fault+0xe5/0x320 do_user_addr_fault+0x1cc/0x870 exc_page_fault+0x81/0x1b0 asm_exc_page_fault+0x27/0x30 </TASK> Harmless, the WARN_ON_ONCE() is what keeps the out of bounds unit[] read from happening, but the id should not look valid in the first place. Clear it before returning. Two other spots could paper over this: drop the id in __list_lru_init() when nokmem turns memcg_aware off, or make deferred_split_folio() pass NULL like list_lru_add_obj() does. Both leave shrinker->id lying around for the next caller, so fix it where the id is handed out.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
Fixed in Linux kernel 7.2.8 and 7.3.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 7.2.8, 7.3
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
Not affected: 7 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5
Timeline
- 2026-10-06 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-98225
- 2026-10-06 Alias added: GHSA-hwqf-5jpw-p78w
- 2026-10-10 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-10 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-10-19 Fix available: Linux/[email protected] · CNA
- 2026-11-06 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
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Sources
- CVE-2026-98225 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-98225 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-hwqf-5jpw-p78w · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-98225 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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