Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-98259

Vulnerability identifier: #VU153767

CSH Severity: Low

CVSS v4: 6.8 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]

CVE-ID: CVE-2026-98259

CWE-ID: CWE-754

Exploitation vector: Local access

Exploit availability: No public exploit available

The vulnerability allows a local user to cause a denial of service.

The vulnerability exists due to improper checking of zero or empty xarray entries in the Linux kernel DAX functions dax_associate_entry(), dax_disassociate_entry(), and dax_busy_page() when converting entries to folios. A local user can trigger conversion of a zero or empty entry to cause a denial of service.

The reported failure occurs while booting a virtual machine with DAX-enabled storage.

Linux kernel
Ubuntu
linux (Ubuntu package)
linux-aws (Ubuntu package)
linux-gcp (Ubuntu package)
linux-oracle (Ubuntu package)
linux-ibm (Ubuntu package)
linux-hwe-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
linux-oem-7.0 (Ubuntu package)

Install security update from vendor's repository.

Linux kernel - update to 7.0 rc3
linux (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-42.42
linux-aws (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1016.17
linux-gcp (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1016.18
linux-oracle (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1015.16
linux-ibm (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1017.17
linux-hwe-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-42.42~24.04.1
linux-oem-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1017.17

• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/185cd2f5fe1e3319853cf065905b2885ad0bcbf8
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/44ab7420ab52ab6c04bf225cac7c5c007cedd6c7
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8e2b8614039853e68d5338e37821e8bcee9fc05f

• Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions in Linux kernel fs
• Ubuntu update for linux-oem-7.0
• Ubuntu update for linux, linux-aws, linux-gcp and more