Critical severity · published Aug 15, 2026
CVE-2026-72412
s390/mm: Fix handling of _PAGE_UNUSED pte bit
9.3
CVSS
0.2%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
s390/mm: Fix handling of _PAGE_UNUSED pte bit
The _PAGE_UNUSED softbit should not really be lying around. Its sole
purpose is to signal to try_to_unmap_one() and try_to_migrate_one()
that the page can be discarded instead of being moved / swapped.
KVM has no way to know why a page is being unmapped, so it sets the bit
on userspace ptes corresponding to unused guest pages every time they
get unmapped. KVM has no reasonable way to clear the bit once the page
is in use again.
While set_ptes() checks and clears the bit, other paths that set new
ptes did not. This led to used pages being thrown out as if they were
unused, causing guest corruption.
Fix the issue by clearing the _PAGE_UNUSED bit for present ptes in
set_pte(), i.e. whenever a present pte is getting set. The check in
set_ptes() is then redundant and can be removed.
Also fix gmap_helper_try_set_pte_unused() to only set the bit if the
pte is present; the _PAGE_UNUSED bit is only defined for present ptes
and thus should not be set for non-present ptes.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Scope
Changed
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.2% · higher than 7% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
LI
Linux · Linux
c98175b7917fa81cd499b1527c4a57fd7d36711e before fda07c8e4b54b9105f1ca73f0adea7b244d405f4; c98175b7917fa81cd499b1527c4a57fd7d36711e before d4bb00704a66024502261fa7a523c07420249fea; 7.0 · source: vendor
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-72412
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-72412
git.kernel.org
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d4bb00704a66024502261fa7a523c07420249fea
git.kernel.org
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fda07c8e4b54b9105f1ca73f0adea7b244d405f4
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