CVE-2026-53155

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

mm/huge_memory: use correct flags for device private PMD entry

Commit 65edfda6f3f2 (mm/rmap: extend rmap and migration support device-private entries) updated set_pmd_migration_entry() to use pmdp_huge_get_and_clear() in the softleaf case, but made no further adjustments to the function itself.

Therefore this function continues to incorrectly use pmd_write(), pmd_soft_dirty() and pmd_uffd_wp() to determine whether the installed migration entry should be marked writable, softdirty or uffd-wp respectively.

Whilst all are incorrect, the most problematic of these is pmd_write(), as this can lead to corrupted rmap state.

On x86-64 _PAGE_SWP_SOFT_DIRTY is aliased to _PAGE_RW. So calling pmd_write() on a softleaf will return the softdirty state encoded in the entry, assuming CONFIG_MEM_SOFT_DIRTY was enabled.

This was observed when running the hmm.hmm_device_private.anon_write_child selftest:

1. The test faults in a range then migrates it such that a device-private THP range is established.

2. The parent then migrates it to a device-private writable PMD entry whose folio is entirely AnonExclusive with entire_mapcount=1, softdirty set (accidentally correct write state).

3. The parent forks and the PMD entries are set to device-private read only entries, entire_mapcount=2, softdirty still set.

4. [BUG] The child writes to the range then migrates to RAM - intending to install non-writable migration entries - but replacing parent and child PMD mappings with WRITABLE entries due to misinterpreting the softdirty bit.

5. In remove_migration_pmd(), if !softleaf_is_migration_read(entry) we set the RMAP_EXCLUSIVE flag when calling folio_add_anon_rmap_pmd() for both parent and child, which are therefore AnonExclusive.

6. [SPLAT] Child sets migrated folio entire_mapcount=1, parent sets entire_mapcount=2 and we end up with an AnonExclusive folio with entire_mapcount=2! Assert fires in __folio_add_anon_rmap():

    VM_WARN_ON_FOLIO(folio_test_large(folio) &&
    		 folio_entire_mapcount(folio) > 1 &&
    		 PageAnonExclusive(cur_page), folio)
   

This patch fixes the issue by correctly referencing the softleaf entry fields for writable, softdirty and uffd-wp in set_pmd_migration_entry().

It also only updates A/D flags if the entry is present as these are otherwise not meaningful for a softleaf entry.

This patch also flips the if (!present) { … } else { … } logic in set_pmd_migration_entry() so it is easier to understand, and adds some comments to make things clearer.

I was able to bisect this to commit 775465fd26a3 (lib/test_hmm: add zone device private THP test infrastructure) which first exposes this bug as it was the commit that permitted test_hmm to generate the test.

However commit 65edfda6f3f2 (mm/rmap: extend rmap and migration support device-private entries) is the commit that actually enabled this behaviour.

Affected Software

References

• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/43e7f189769c512c843184a8a5892ac779a6bd90
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d7251c8d3f7cea76543abac6cf4ed15582c10846