Race condition in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-68086
Published: August 13, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU142235
CSH Severity: Low
CVSS v4: 6.8 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: CVE-2026-68086
CWE-ID: CWE-362
Exploitation vector: Local access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vulnerability details
The vulnerability allows a local user to cause data loss.
The vulnerability exists due to improper synchronization in mm/khugepaged collapse_file() when collapsing file-backed transparent huge pages in the presence of previously dirtied folios. A local user can write to a file, close it, and trigger a collapse operation to cause data loss.
The issue occurs in an edge case where dirty folios from previous writers can be discarded during page cache truncation after a later writable open.
Affected software
Linux kernel
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, little endian
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for ARM 64
kernel (Red Hat package)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, little endian
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for ARM 64
kernel (Red Hat package)
How to mitigate CVE-2026-68086
Install security update from vendor's repository.
kernel (Red Hat package) - update to 6.12.0-211.50.1.el10_2