CVE-2024-42317: mm/huge_memory: avoid PMD-size page cache if needed
CSIRTS triage
- What
- Linux kernel memory management may allocate PMD-size page cache when not needed, causing resource waste.
- Who is affected
- Systems running affected kernel versions with heavy memory workloads are vulnerable.
- Urgency
- Medium urgency; CVSS 5.5 indicates potential system stability impact.
- Action
- Update to a patched Linux kernel version addressing CVE-2024-42317.
AI-assisted analysis generated from the source advisory — verify against the original.
Details
Original advisory: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2024-42317
Exploitation outlook
EPSS (FIRST.org) estimates each CVE’s probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — here is the CSIRTS.com read on those numbers.
- Low exploitation riskCVE-2024-423170.18% 30-day exploitation probability — currently an unlikely target, but scores change as exploit code circulates. Riskier than 8% of all EPSS-scored CVEs.
Referenced CVEs
| CVE | CSIRTS overview | External |
|---|---|---|
| CVE-2024-42317 | coverage & exploitation status | NVD · CVE.org |
Recent advisories for mm/huge_memory
A cluster of recent advisories against the same product widens the attack surface — attackers routinely chain freshly published CVEs on one product, so review these together.
- highCVE-2026-74632: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/huge_memory: fix huge_z…nvd · 2026-08-22
- highCVE-2026-74482: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/huge_memory: unlock i_m…nvd · 2026-08-15
- unknownCVE-2026-72180: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/huge_memory: preserve p…nvd · 2026-08-15
- mediumCVE-2026-74482: mm/huge_memory: unlock i_mmap_rwsem before releasing after-split foliosmsrc · 2026-08-11
- mediumCVE-2026-74632: mm/huge_memory: fix huge_zero_pfn racemsrc · 2026-08-11
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