CVE-2026-74672: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/vmalloc: acquire init_mm lock on huge vmap to avoid ptdump UAF Patch series "mm: fix UA

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/vmalloc: acquire init_mm lock on huge vmap to avoid ptdump UAF Patch series "mm: fix UA

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/vmalloc: acquire init_mm lock on huge vmap to avoid ptdump UAF Patch series "mm: fix UAF caused by race between ptdump and vmap pgtable freeing", v6. Kernel page table walkers fall into two broad categories - those ranges where no exclusion is required via walk_kernel_page_table_range_lockless() and those where exclusion is required via walk_kernel_page_table_range() or walk_page_range_debug(). The former category is used only by arm64 arch code operating on ranges it both wholly owns and does not concurrently write. The latter category consists of kernel page table walkers operating on ranges that are wholly owned (but which need exclusion against concurrent writers). The lock used for exclusion is the mmap lock, and for kernel ranges this is the mmap lock on init_mm. ptdump is a special case being both the only user of walk_page_range_debug(), and the only case in which it walks ranges it does not own. This presents a problem, as page tables may be freed under ptdump. And indeed there is a use-after-free bug in the kernel as a result, which this series addresses. vmap promotes page tables to huge lea

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 0.17%, higher than 6% 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

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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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