CVE-2026-89953: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mtd: mtdoops: free page bitmap when the backing MTD is removed mtdoops_notify

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mtd: mtdoops: free page bitmap when the backing MTD is removed mtdoops_notify_add() alloca

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mtd: mtdoops: free page bitmap when the backing MTD is removed mtdoops_notify_add() allocates oops_page_used when the configured MTD device is registered. mtdoops_notify_remove() detaches from that device but leaves the bitmap allocated. If the same MTD device is later registered again, the add path allocates a new bitmap and overwrites the old pointer, leaking one vmalloc allocation per remove/add cycle. This is only visible when the backing MTD device can disappear and be registered again while mtdoops remains loaded, so the usual static MTD case does not expose it. Free the bitmap after unregistering the dumper and flushing the pending workers, then clear the pointer and page count before a later attach can allocate fresh state. Clearing the pointer also keeps the module exit path from freeing the same bitmap a second time after a remove event.

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 0.22%, higher than 12% 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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