{"dataType":"CVE_RECORD","dataVersion":"5.2","cveMetadata":{"cveId":"CVE-2026-72027","assignerOrgId":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","state":"PUBLISHED","assignerShortName":"Linux","dateReserved":"2026-08-09T03:40:39.901Z","datePublished":"2026-08-15T05:51:51.219Z","dateUpdated":"2026-08-17T05:39:33.783Z"},"containers":{"cna":{"providerMetadata":{"orgId":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","shortName":"Linux","dateUpdated":"2026-08-17T05:39:33.783Z"},"descriptions":[{"lang":"en","value":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nmm/compaction: handle free_pages_prepare() properly in compaction_free()\n\nfree_pages_prepare() can fail but compaction_free() does not handle the\nfailure case.  Failed pages should not be added back to cc->freepages for\nfuture use, since they can be either PageHWPoison or free_page_is_bad()\nand might cause data corruption."}],"metrics":[{"cvssV3_1":{"version":"3.1","vectorString":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","baseScore":7.8,"baseSeverity":"HIGH"},"scenarios":[{"lang":"en","value":"AV:L - The flaw is in mm/compaction.c compaction_free(), reached only via local kernel memory-management paths (__alloc_pages_slowpath/try_to_compact_pages, kcompactd, or root sysctl), not from network packet handlers or physical device insertion.\nAC:L - An unprivileged attacker can reliably drive compaction (THP/high-order mmap, memory pressure) and concurrently force migrate_pages failures and races so compaction_free() runs on pages where free_pages_prepare() rejects them; both sides are attacker-influenceable.\nPR:L - No special capability is required: ordinary local processes trigger direct compaction through normal allocators and transparent hugepage mappings, and user namespaces do not block these memory syscalls or kcompactd-driven compaction on the host.\nUI:N - Exploitation requires only the attacker's own memory-allocation and churn activity; no separate victim must mount filesystems, open files, or perform other interactive steps beyond routine process execution.\nS:U - Recycling PageHWPoison or free_page_is_bad() pages corrupts host kernel page-allocator/compaction state and process memory within the same OS security authority, not a VM-guest-to-host or IOMMU boundary crossing.\nC:H - Reusing pages that failed free_pages_prepare() can expose stale kernel or cross-process contents and enables allocator/page aliasing primitives; under the overestimate rule, this memory-corruption class supports high confidentiality impact.\nI:H - The fix explicitly warns these pages may cause data corruption when returned to cc->freepages; compaction_alloc() later hands them to migrate_pages as destinations, allowing corrupted/compound state to be written into live mappings.\nA:H - Reallocating HWPoison or allocator-marked bad pages during compaction can trigger kernel faults, bad-page detection, oopses, or panics when the poisoned folio is touched, satisfying high availability impact under the kernel crash guidance."}]}],"affected":[{"product":"Linux","vendor":"Linux","defaultStatus":"unaffected","repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","programFiles":["mm/compaction.c"],"versions":[{"version":"733aea0b3a7bba0451dfc19322665de13a5b7af4","lessThan":"de8577db09039d4950239b01446ab5ead9028ab4","status":"affected","versionType":"git"},{"version":"733aea0b3a7bba0451dfc19322665de13a5b7af4","lessThan":"018d7ad26cb8bdfe9842f2ca68a42b0bfdcc82fe","status":"affected","versionType":"git"},{"version":"733aea0b3a7bba0451dfc19322665de13a5b7af4","lessThan":"23afc3786acf359c135093893fb43a436768c832","status":"affected","versionType":"git"},{"version":"733aea0b3a7bba0451dfc19322665de13a5b7af4","lessThan":"7da7d599b8a83271c464adfd5ef160202b470570","status":"affected","versionType":"git"}]},{"product":"Linux","vendor":"Linux","defaultStatus":"affected","repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","programFiles":["mm/compaction.c"],"versions":[{"version":"6.9","status":"affected"},{"version":"0","lessThan":"6.9","status":"unaffected","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.12.97","lessThanOrEqual":"6.12.*","status":"unaffected","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.18.40","lessThanOrEqual":"6.18.*","status":"unaffected","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"7.1.5","lessThanOrEqual":"7.1.*","status":"unaffected","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"7.2","lessThanOrEqual":"*","status":"unaffected","versionType":"original_commit_for_fix"}]}],"cpeApplicability":[{"nodes":[{"operator":"OR","negate":false,"cpeMatch":[{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"6.9","versionEndExcluding":"6.12.97"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"6.9","versionEndExcluding":"6.18.40"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"6.9","versionEndExcluding":"7.1.5"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"6.9","versionEndExcluding":"7.2"}]}]}],"references":[{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/de8577db09039d4950239b01446ab5ead9028ab4"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/018d7ad26cb8bdfe9842f2ca68a42b0bfdcc82fe"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/23afc3786acf359c135093893fb43a436768c832"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7da7d599b8a83271c464adfd5ef160202b470570"}],"title":"mm/compaction: handle free_pages_prepare() properly in compaction_free()","x_generator":{"engine":"bippy-1.2.0"}}}}