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TI-2026-68117 Aliases CVE-2026-98226GHSA-7gvc-xwfg-q86p

Swap usage flag collision in Linux kernel corrupts swap counter

Priority LOW 22Published · Updated

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
Partial Red Hat: 1 without a fix

No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.

Summary

The Linux kernel from 6.14 defines SWAP_USAGE_OFFLIST_BIT with a bit that collides with the swap usage count once that count reaches 4 TiB on systems with 4 KiB pages. The collision makes /proc/swaps understate used swap, corrupts the stored count and plist state, and can make swapoff tear down a device while pages are still swapped out, losing those pages.

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, swap: fix SWAP_USAGE_OFFLIST_BIT collision with real usage count SWAP_USAGE_OFFLIST_BIT is embedded in the si->inuse_pages usage counter, and is meant to sit above any value that counter can reach. However, it is defined from BITS_PER_TYPE(atomic_t), so it is bit 30. On a system with 4 KiB pages the flag collides with the usage count once that count reaches 4 TiB. swap_usage_in_pages() masks bit 30 out, so whenever the real count has that bit set, every caller of it reads 4 TiB low: * /proc/swaps understates Used by 4 TiB. * A raw count of exactly 2^30 masks to zero, so try_to_unuse() takes its "if (!swap_usage_in_pages(si)) goto success;" early exit and swapoff tears the device down while pages are still swapped out. Nothing in the rest of swapoff aborts the teardown, so those pages are lost. Independently of swapoff, the collision also corrupts the counter and the plist. On a device in normal use, a free that leaves bit 30 set in the count makes swap_usage_sub() see the flag where there is only count, and call add_to_avail_list(). It clears the bit with fetch_and(~SWAP_USAGE_OFFLIST_BIT), leaving the stored count 4 TiB below the real one, and calls plist_add() on a device that is already listed, tripping the WARN_ON(!plist_node_empty(node)) in plist_add() and linking the node a second time. Change the definition of SWAP_USAGE_OFFLIST_BIT to be based on atomic_long_t instead. Note that the usage counter field itself is of this same type, so it is still a valid bit.

Why it matters now

EPSS 0.00166 5th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Linux (Linux): 6.18.54, 7.2.8, 7.3Red Hat: 1 without a fix

SSVC decision points

Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.

Affected products

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
LinuxLinux6.14 and later6.18.54, 7.2.8, 7.3Patch availableCNA
  • Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.14 and later Fixed in 6.18.54, 7.2.8, 7.3 Patch available CNA

CPE names Threatist (inferred) · 1

Inferred from how NVD named this product before; not given by a source.

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*——Linux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions — — ·Linux

Remediation

Upgrade the Linux kernel to 6.18.54, 7.2.8 or 7.3, which fix the flaw. Red Hat lists Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 as affected with no fix available.

Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06

  • Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.18.54, 7.2.8, 7.3

Vendor assessments

Red Hat

Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →

ProductStatusPlan or fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10AffectedNo fix yet: Fix deferred
Not affected: 6 products
  • 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

  1. 2026-10-06 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-98226
  2. 2026-10-06 Alias added: GHSA-7gvc-xwfg-q86p
  3. 2026-10-10 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
  4. 2026-10-10 CVSS score added · Red Hat
  5. 2026-10-19 Fix available: Linux/[email protected] · CNA
  6. 2026-10-23 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
  7. 2026-10-23 CVSS score changed · Red Hat
  8. 2026-11-06 Affected versions changed · Red Hat

References

  • TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
  • TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2021-02452 Incorrect authorization in Ubuntu linux kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
  • TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
See all 21741 →

Sources