CVE-2025-71072: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: shmem: fix recovery on rename failures maple_tree insertions can fail if we are seriously

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: shmem: fix recovery on rename failures maple_tree insertions can fail if we are seriously

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: shmem: fix recovery on rename failures maple_tree insertions can fail if we are seriously short on memory; simple_offset_rename() does not recover well if it runs into that. The same goes for simple_offset_rename_exchange(). Moreover, shmem_whiteout() expects that if it succeeds, the caller will progress to d_move(), i.e. that shmem_rename2() won't fail past the successful call of shmem_whiteout(). Not hard to fix, fortunately - mtree_store() can't fail if the index we are trying to store into is already present in the tree as a singleton. For simple_offset_rename_exchange() that's enough - we just need to be careful about the order of operations. For simple_offset_rename() solution is to preinsert the target into the tree for new_dir; the rest can be done without any potentially failing operations. That preinsertion has to be done in shmem_rename2() rather than in simple_offset_rename() itself - otherwise we'd need to deal with the possibility of failure after successful shmem_whiteout().

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

What it means for a small business

Linux is on the computers, phones or browsers your team uses every day. Turn on automatic updates and restart: most of these fixes only take effect after a restart.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.36%, higher than 29% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 29, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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