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CVE-2026-64418

mm: shrinker: fix shrinker_info teardown race with expansion

7.8 EPSS 0.1% AV:L

Published 2026-07-25 (3 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem mm. Debian urgency: unimportant.

What to do, per Debian release

Debian's own status for CVE-2026-64418 in every release this site tracks, and what each one means in practice. Every status below is the one the Debian Security Team publishes for this CVE. source

ReleaseStatus VersionWhat this means
Debian 12bookwormnot affected6.1.190-1Nothing to do. bookworm never shipped the vulnerable code.
Debian 13trixiefixed6.12.96-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.12.96-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian 14forkyfixed7.1.4-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.4-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian unstablesidfixed7.1.4-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.4-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian 12bookworm · linux-6.12fixedDLA-4724-1 · 2026-08-07 · text6.12.100-1~deb12u1Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4724-1 shipped the fix on 2026-08-07, in 6.12.100-1~deb12u1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.

The vulnerability

What the bug is

expand_shrinker_info() iterates all visible memcgs under shrinker_mutex, including memcgs that have not finished ->css_online() yet. Once pn->shrinker_info has been published, teardown must stay serialized with expand_shrinker_info() until that memcg is either fully online or no longer visible to iteration. Today alloc_shrinker_info() breaks that rule by dropping shrinker_mutex before freeing a partially initialized shrinker_info array, which may cause the following race: CPU0 CPU1 ==== ==== css_create --> list_add_tail_rcu(&css->sibling, &parent_css->children); online_css --> mem_cgroup_css_online --> alloc_shrinker_info --> alloc node0 info rcu_assign_pointer(C->node0->shrinker_info, old0) alloc node1 info -> FAIL -> goto err mutex_unlock(shrinker_mutex) shrinker_alloc() --> shrinker_memcg_alloc --> mutex_lock(shrinker_mutex) expand_shrinker_info --> mem_cgroup_iter see the memcg expand_one_shrinker_info --> old0 = C->node0->shrinker_info memcpy(new->unit, old0->unit, ...); free_shrinker_info --> kvfree(old0); /* double free !! */ kvfree_rcu(old0, rcu); The same problem exists later in mem_cgroup_css_online(). If alloc_shrinker_info() succeeds but a subsequent objcg allocation fails, the free_objcg -> free_shrinker_info() unwind path tears down the already published pn->shrinker_info arrays without shrinker_mutex. The expand_one_shrinker_info() can race with that teardown in the same way, leading to use-after-free or double-free of the old shrinker_info. Fix this by serializing shrinker_info teardown with shrinker_mutex, and by keeping alloc_shrinker_info() error cleanup inside the locked section.

Where it lives

The fix touches these files. If the subsystem is one you do not use, the practical exposure is lower, though the package is still the vulnerable one.

mm/shrinker.c

What this is
SHRINKERMAINTAINERS section matched on mm/shrinker.c · linux-mm@kvack.org · Maintained
Show whether Debian builds this, per release

Debian builds this code. Every release with an answer below compiles the affected file into the kernels it ships. The build rule could not be established for 1 release, so nothing is claimed about those.

  • bookworm?
  • trixie, forky, sid, bookworm · linux-6.12y
?
not established - no Makefile entry for the affected file
y
built into the kernel image on every flavour - only a patch removes it

Where a release above reads "not established", no build rule for the affected file was found in that release's kernel tree. That is a gap in this lookup, not a finding that the code is absent.

From the configuration Debian publishes for every kernel flavour it builds. It covers only the architectures Debian ships a linux-config package for, and nothing about a kernel you built yourself. Debian's own status above stays authoritative about the source package.MAINTAINERS Debian linux-config packages

Signals

Published
2026-07-25 (3 months ago)source
CVSS
7.8 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it
Attack vector
local (AV:L)source
EPSS
0.10%, higher than 0.7% of all CVEssource
CISA KEV
not listedthe KEV catalogue
Debian urgency
unimportantsource
Subsystem
mm

Upstream fixes

The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source

IntroducedFixed inCommit
6.76.12.96b9a280a9a454
6.76.18.396465ff3ce651
6.77.1.4284c267f013e
6.77.265476d31d805

Debian advisories

AdvisoryDateShipped toDebian
DLA-4724-12026-08-07bookworm 6.12.100-1~deb12u1tracker

Why the CNA scored it this way

Quoted from the kernel CNA's own scoring file, word for word. A highlighted metric carries the most severe value CVSS v3.1 defines for it, which is what pushes the score up. source

AV:LAttack vector, local
The vulnerable path is reachable through local cgroup mkdir operations raced against memcg-aware shrinker allocation, such as mounting new tmpfs instances.
AC:LAttack complexity, low
An attacker can repeatedly create cgroups, induce allocation pressure, and concurrently allocate shrinkers, controlling both sides of the race and widening it through repetition.
PR:LPrivileges required, low
An unprivileged user with a delegated cgroup v2 subtree can create memory cgroups, while user namespaces provide the capability needed to mount user-namespace-enabled filesystems.
UI:NUser interaction, none
Exploitation requires no action by another user once the attacker can execute the concurrent local operations.
S:UScope, unchanged
The corruption occurs within the kernel and represents ordinary local privilege escalation within the same security authority.
C:HConfidentiality impact, high
The use-after-free and delayed double-free permit heap reuse and manipulation of dangling shrinker unit pointers, potentially enabling arbitrary kernel-memory disclosure.
I:HIntegrity impact, high
The dangling pointers, atomic operations on freed units, and double-free can provide arbitrary kernel-memory corruption and control-flow hijacking.
A:HAvailability impact, high
The use-after-free or double-free can directly cause a kernel oops, panic, or other system-wide failure.