CVE-2026-72212
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
mm/memory_hotplug: fix incorrect altmap passing in error path
In create_altmaps_and_memory_blocks(), when arch_add_memory() succeeds
with memmap_on_memory enabled, the vmemmap pages are allocated from
params.altmap. If create_memory_block_devices() subsequently fails, the
error path calls arch_remove_memory() with a NULL altmap instead of
params.altmap.
This is a bug that could lead to memory corruption. Since altmap is NULL,
vmemmap_free() falls back to freeing the vmemmap pages into the system
buddy allocator via free_pages() instead of the altmap.
arch_remove_memory() then immediately destroys the physical linear mapping
for this memory. This injects unowned pages into the buddy allocator,
causing machine checks or memory corruption if the system later attempts
to allocate and use those freed pages.
Fix this by passing params.altmap to arch_remove_memory() in the error
path.
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Exploitation outlook
- Low exploitation risk0.20% 30-day exploitation probability — currently an unlikely target, but scores change as exploit code circulates. Riskier than 10% of all EPSS-scored CVEs.
Advisory coverage (1)
External references
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