CVE-2026-23097 | migrate: correct lock ordering for hugetlb file folios

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: migrate: correct lock ordering for hugetlb file folios Syzbot has found a deadlock (analyzed by Lance Yang): 1) Task (5749): Holds folio_lock, then tries to acquire i_mmap_rwsem(read lock). 2) Task (5754): Holds i_mmap_rwsem(write lock), then tries to acquire folio_lock. migrate_pages() -> migrate_hugetlbs() -> unmap_and_move_huge_page() <- Takes folio_lock! -> remove_migration_ptes() -> __rmap_walk_file() -> i_mmap_lock_read() <- Waits for i_mmap_rwsem(read lock)! hugetlbfs_fallocate() -> hugetlbfs_punch_hole() <- Takes i_mmap_rwsem(write lock)! -> hugetlbfs_zero_partial_page() -> filemap_lock_hugetlb_folio() -> filemap_lock_folio() -> __filemap_get_folio <- Waits for folio_lock! The migration path is the one taking locks in the wrong order according to the documentation at the top of mm/rmap.c. So expand the scope of the existing i_mmap_lock to cover the calls to remove_migration_ptes() too. This is (mostly) how it used to be after commit c0d0381ade79. That was removed by 336bf30eb765 for both file & anon hugetlb pages when it should only have been removed for anon hugetlb pages.

Published: 2026-02-04 Last update: 2026-03-18 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-23097 is rated Low Risk (23.3/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.02%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-23097

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-02-05 0.02%

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-23097

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-23097

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-23097

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2026-23097 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 2 source packages (linux, linux-6.1), 6 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 6. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-23097
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-23097
suse medium CVE-2026-23097 severity moderate: SUSE including 192 source package names (2.2.1-5.81:libblkid1-2.40.4-slfo.1.1_4.1, 2.2.1-5.81:libfdisk1-2.40.4-slfo.1.1_4.1, …), 378 product×package rows across 30 product lines (Container suse/sl-micro/6.1/baremetal-os-container, Container suse/sl-micro/6.1/base-os-container, … (30 product lines)): Fixed 288, Known Not Affected 65, First Fixed 25. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-23097/
ubuntu medium CVE-2026-23097 medium priority: Ubuntu including 157 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1256 status rows across 8 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 871, ignored 169, released 102, needed 52, not-affected 46, pending 16. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-23097

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-23097

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 5.9.9, < 5.10 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.10.1, < 5.10.249 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.11, < 5.15.199 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.16, < 6.1.162 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.2, < 6.6.122 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.7, < 6.12.68 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.13, < 6.18.8 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 5.10 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.10:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 5.10 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.10:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 5.10 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.10:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 5.10 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.10:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 5.10 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.10:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.19 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.19 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.19 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.19 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.19 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.19 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2026-23097

cvelogic Threat Intelligence