Improper access control in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-72180
Published: August 16, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU143409
CSH Severity: Low
CVSS v4: 4.8 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: CVE-2026-72180
CWE-ID: CWE-284
Exploitation vector: Local access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vulnerability details
The vulnerability allows a local user to bypass a userfaultfd write-protection trap.
The vulnerability exists due to improper preservation of protection metadata in change_non_present_huge_pmd() when processing a writable device-private PMD swap entry during a huge PMD downgrade. A local user can invoke mprotect() on a UFFD_WP-marked device-private THP to bypass a userfaultfd write-protection trap.
The issue occurs because the uffd write-protect bit is stripped and the trap is bypassed on swap-in.
Affected software
Linux kernel
Ubuntu
linux-gcp-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
Ubuntu
linux-gcp-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
How to mitigate CVE-2026-72180
Install security update from vendor's repository.
Linux kernel - update to 7.0 rc3
linux-gcp-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 7.0.0-38.38~24.04.4, 7.0.0-1013.13~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1014.14~24.04.1
linux-azure-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 7.0.0-1016.16~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1017.17~24.04.1
linux-gcp-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 7.0.0-38.38~24.04.4, 7.0.0-1013.13~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1014.14~24.04.1
linux-azure-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 7.0.0-1016.16~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1017.17~24.04.1