Highly exploitable, CVE-2026-68163 poses a critical security risk that could lead to severe breaches.
Status: Received on 10 Aug 2026, 13:20 UTC
Last updated: 🕔 17 Aug 2026, 05:18 UTC
Originally published on: 🕐 10 Aug 2026, 13:20 UTC
Time between publication and last update: 6 days
CVSS Release: version 3
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Secondary
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVE-2026-68163: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/page_vma_mapped: fix device-private PMD handling Commit 65edfda6f3f2 ("mm/rmap: extend rmap and migration support device-private entries") introduced the concept of device-private PMD entries, but did not correctly update the rmap walk code to account for them. As a result, when page_vma_mapped_walk() encounters device-private PMD entries, it takes no action other than to acquire the PMD lock and exit. However this is highly problematic for two reasons - firstly, device private entries possess a PFN so check_pmd() needs to be called to ensure an overlapping PFN range. Secondly, and more importantly, if PVMW_MIGRATION is set the caller assumes the returned entry is a migration entry, resulting in memory corruption when the caller tries to interpret the device private entry as such. In addition, commit 146287290023 ("mm/huge_memory: implement device-private THP splitting") allowed device private PMDs to be split like THP mappings, but again did not update this code path. As a result, we might race a PMD split prior to acquiring the PMD lock. This patch addresses all of these issues by invoking check_pmd(), ensuring PMVW_MIGRATION is not set and checks whether a split raced us we do for PMD THP and migration entries. Instead of checking for a subset of the cases after taking the pmd_lock(), put device-private along with pmd_trans_huge() and pmd_is_migration_entry(). Also remove thp_migration_supported() as it is already guarded by pmd_is_migration_entry(). [akpm@linux-foundation.org: fix Raspberry Pi 1 build, per David]
The exploitability of CVE-2026-68163 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).
CVE-2026-68163 presents an accessible attack vector with minimal effort required. Restricting access controls and implementing security updates are critical to reducing exploitation risks.
A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.
Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.
Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.
Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2026-68163, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.
Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2026-68163, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.
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