CVE-2022-50517

Name of the Vulnerable Software and Affected Versions Linux kernel versions prior to 6.0.0-revert-b653db77-fix+ #29

Description A flaw exists in the Linux kernel's mm/huge memory subsystem related to handling transparent huge pages (THP) splits. Specifically, the issue involves incorrectly overwriting the swp entry t during a THP split operation. This can lead to a soft lockup, as observed during stress testing with stressng mmap. The problem arises because the patch intended to avoid clearing PG private when folio->private is not NULL, but it inadvertently overwrites page->private for THP tail pages that are using it to store swap cache information. This issue was identified and addressed with a revert commit.

Recommendations Update to a version of the Linux kernel that includes the fix, which is the revert commit 6.0.0-revert-b653db77-fix+ #29 or a later version.