CVE-2026-72174

Name of the Vulnerable Software and Affected Versions Linux kernel (affected versions not specified)

Description A self-deadlock occurs in the Linux kernel when a PAGEMAP SCAN ioctl requests PM SCAN WP MATCHING on a hugetlb VMA. The issue arises when the scan reaches an unpopulated part of the range, causing the calling thread to hang unkillably. This happens because walk hugetlb range() holds the hugetlb vma lock for read, and subsequently, pagemap scan pte hole() calls uffd wp range(), which leads to hugetlb change protection() attempting to acquire the same vma lock for write. The thread then blocks while waiting for the read lock it already holds.

Technical execution flow: do pagemap scan() -> walk page range() -> walk hugetlb range() -> hugetlb vma lock read() -> pagemap scan pte hole() -> uffd wp range() -> change protection() -> hugetlb change protection() -> hugetlb vma lock write().

Recommendations At the moment, there is no information about a newer version that contains a fix for this vulnerability.