CVE-2026-31456

CVE-2026-31456 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel with a CVSS 3.x base score of 4.7. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-362.

Key facts

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/pagewalk: fix race between concurrent split and refault The splitting of a PUD entry in walk_pud_range() can race with a concurrent thread refaulting the PUD leaf entry causing it to try walking a PMD range that has disappeared. An example and reproduction of this is to try reading numa_maps of a process while VFIO-PCI is setting up DMA (specifically the vfio_pin_pages_remote call) on a large BAR for that process. This will trigger a kernel BUG: vfio-pci 0000:03:00.0: enabling device (0000 -> 0002) BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffffa23980000000 PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI ... RIP: 0010:walk_pgd_range+0x3b5/0x7a0 Code: 8d 43 ff 48 89 44 24 28 4d 89 ce 4d 8d a7 00 00 20 00 48 8b 4c 24 28 49 81 e4 00 00 e0 ff 49 8d 44 24 ff 48 39 c8 4c 0f 43 e3 <49> f7 06 9f ff ff ff 75 3b 48 8b 44 24 20 48 8b 40 28 48 85 c0 74 RSP: 0018:ffffac23e1ecf808 EFLAGS: 00010287 RAX: 00007f44c01fffff RBX: 00007f4500000000 RCX: 00007f44ffffffff RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 000ffffffffff000 RDI: ffffffff93378fe0 RBP: ffffac23e1ecf918 R08: 0000000000000004 R09: ffffa23980000000 R10: 0000000000000020 R11: 0000000000000004 R12: 00007f44c0200000 R13: 00007f44c0000000 R14: ffffa23980000000 R15: 00007f44c0000000 FS: 00007fe884739580(0000) GS:ffff9b7d7a9c0000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: ffffa23980000000 CR3: 000000c0650e2005 CR4: 0000000000770ef0 PKRU: 55555554 Call Trace: <TASK> __walk_page_range+0x195/0x1b0 walk_page_vma+0x62/0xc0 show_numa_map+0x12b/0x3b0 seq_read_iter+0x297/0x440 seq_read+0x11d/0x140 vfs_read+0xc2/0x340 ksys_read+0x5f/0xe0 do_syscall_64+0x68/0x130 ? get_page_from_freelist+0x5c2/0x17e0 ? mas_store_prealloc+0x17e/0x360 ? vma_set_page_prot+0x4c/0xa0 ? __alloc_pages_noprof+0x14e/0x2d0 ? __mod_memcg_lruvec_state+0x8d/0x140 ? __lruvec_stat_mod_folio+0x76/0xb0 ? __folio_mod_stat+0x26/0x80 ? do_anonymous_page+0x705/0x900 ? __handle_mm_fault+0xa8d/0x1000 ? __count_memcg_events+0x53/0xf0 ? handle_mm_fault+0xa5/0x360 ? do_user_addr_fault+0x342/0x640 ? arch_exit_to_user_mode_prepare.constprop.0+0x16/0xa0 ? irqentry_exit_to_user_mode+0x24/0x100 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e RIP: 0033:0x7fe88464f47e Code: c0 e9 b6 fe ff ff 50 48 8d 3d be 07 0b 00 e8 69 01 02 00 66 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 64 8b 04 25 18 00 00 00 85 c0 75 14 0f 05 <48> 3d 00 f0 ff ff 77 5a c3 66 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 48 83 ec 28 RSP: 002b:00007ffe6cd9a9b8 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000000 RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 0000000000020000 RCX: 00007fe88464f47e RDX: 0000000000020000 RSI: 00007fe884543000 RDI: 0000000000000003 RBP: 00007fe884543000 R08: 00007fe884542010 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: fffffffffffffbc5 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 0000000000000000 R13: 0000000000000003 R14: 0000000000020000 R15: 0000000000020000 </TASK> Fix this by validating the PUD entry in walk_pmd_range() using a stable snapshot (pudp_get()). If the PUD is not present or is a leaf, retry the walk via ACTION_AGAIN instead of descending further. This mirrors the retry logic in walk_pte_range(), which lets walk_pmd_range() retry if the PTE is not being got by pte_offset_map_lock().

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-31456?
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/pagewalk: fix race between concurrent split and refault The splitting of a PUD entry in walk_pud_range() can race with a concurrent thread refaulting the PUD leaf entry causing it to try walking a PMD range that has disappeared. An example and reproduction of this is to try reading numa_maps of a process while VFIO-PCI is setting up DMA (specifically the vfio_pin_pages_remote call) on a large BAR for that process. This will trigger a kernel BUG: vfio-pci 0000:03:00.0: enabling device (0000 -> 0002) BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffffa23980000000 PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI ... RIP: 0010:walk_pgd_range+0x3b5/0x7a0 Code: 8d 43 ff 48 89 44 24 28 4d 89 ce 4d 8d a7 00 00 20 00 48 8b 4c 24 28 49 81 e4 00 00 e0 ff 49 8d 44 24 ff 48 39 c8 4c 0f 43 e3 <49> f7 06 9f ff ff ff 75 3b 48 8b 44 24 20 48 8b 40 28 48 85 c0 74 RSP: 0018:ffffac23e1ecf808 EFLAGS: 00010287 RAX: 00007f44c01fffff RBX: 00007f4500000000 RCX: 00007f44ffffffff RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 000ffffffffff000 RDI: ffffffff93378fe0 RBP: ffffac23e1ecf918 R08: 0000000000000004 R09: ffffa23980000000 R10: 0000000000000020 R11: 0000000000000004 R12: 00007f44c0200000 R13: 00007f44c0000000 R14: ffffa23980000000 R15: 00007f44c0000000 FS: 00007fe884739580(0000) GS:ffff9b7d7a9c0000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: ffffa23980000000 CR3: 000000c0650e2005 CR4: 0000000000770ef0 PKRU: 55555554 Call Trace: <TASK> __walk_page_range+0x195/0x1b0 walk_page_vma+0x62/0xc0 show_numa_map+0x12b/0x3b0 seq_read_iter+0x297/0x440 seq_read+0x11d/0x140 vfs_read+0xc2/0x340 ksys_read+0x5f/0xe0 do_syscall_64+0x68/0x130 ? get_page_from_freelist+0x5c2/0x17e0 ? mas_store_prealloc+0x17e/0x360 ? vma_set_page_prot+0x4c/0xa0 ? __alloc_pages_noprof+0x14e/0x2d0 ? __mod_memcg_lruvec_state+0x8d/0x140 ? __lruvec_stat_mod_folio+0x76/0xb0 ? __folio_mod_stat+0x26/0x80 ? do_anonymous_page+0x705/0x900 ? __handle_mm_fault+0xa8d/0x1000 ? __count_memcg_events+0x53/0xf0 ? handle_mm_fault+0xa5/0x360 ? do_user_addr_fault+0x342/0x640 ? arch_exit_to_user_mode_prepare.constprop.0+0x16/0xa0 ? irqentry_exit_to_user_mode+0x24/0x100 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e RIP: 0033:0x7fe88464f47e Code: c0 e9 b6 fe ff ff 50 48 8d 3d be 07 0b 00 e8 69 01 02 00 66 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 64 8b 04 25 18 00 00 00 85 c0 75 14 0f 05 <48> 3d 00 f0 ff ff 77 5a c3 66 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 48 83 ec 28 RSP: 002b:00007ffe6cd9a9b8 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000000 RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 0000000000020000 RCX: 00007fe88464f47e RDX: 0000000000020000 RSI: 00007fe884543000 RDI: 0000000000000003 RBP: 00007fe884543000 R08: 00007fe884542010 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: fffffffffffffbc5 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 0000000000000000 R13: 0000000000000003 R14: 0000000000020000 R15: 0000000000020000 </TASK> Fix this by validating the PUD entry in walk_pmd_range() using a stable snapshot (pudp_get()). If the PUD is not present or is a leaf, retry the walk via ACTION_AGAIN instead of descending further. This mirrors the retry logic in walk_pte_range(), which lets walk_pmd_range() retry if the PTE is not being got by pte_offset_map_lock().
How severe is CVE-2026-31456?
CVE-2026-31456 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 4.7, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with high attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2026-31456 being actively exploited?
It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (1st percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2026-31456?
CVE-2026-31456 primarily affects Linux Linux Kernel. In total, 6 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2026-31456?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
Does CVE-2026-31456 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?
Yes. CVE-2026-31456 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2026-24795.
When was CVE-2026-31456 published?
CVE-2026-31456 was published on 2026-04-22 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (6)

More vulnerabilities in Linux Linux Kernel

All CVEs affecting Linux Linux Kernel →

Other CWE-362 (Race Condition) vulnerabilities

Browse all CWE-362 (Race Condition) vulnerabilities →