CVE-2026-23177
Published: February 14, 2026· Updated: Feb 18, 2026
Official Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
mm, shmem: prevent infinite loop on truncate race
When truncating a large swap entry, shmem_free_swap() returns 0 when the
entry's index doesn't match the given index due to lookup alignment. The
failure fallback path checks if the entry crosses the end border and
aborts when it happens, so truncate won't erase an unexpected entry or
range. But one scenario was ignored.
When `index` points to the middle of a large swap entry, and the large
swap entry doesn't go across the end border, find_get_entries() will
return that large swap entry as the first item in the batch with
`indices[0]` equal to `index`. The entry's base index will be smaller
than `indices[0]`, so shmem_free_swap() will fail and return 0 due to the
"base < index" check. The code will then call shmem_confirm_swap(), get
the order, check if it crosses the END boundary (which it doesn't), and
retry with the same index.
The next iteration will find the same entry again at the same index with
same indices, leading to an infinite loop.
Fix this by retrying with a round-down index, and abort if the index is
smaller than the truncate range.
Technical Analysis
CVE-2026-23177 requires local access, meaning attackers must already have a foothold on the target system.
Exploitation requires some privileges, which limits the exposure to scenarios where an attacker has already gained initial access.
Affected Vendors & Products
Exploit & PoC Resources
All References (3)
Quick Facts
Recommended Actions
- →Apply vendor patches immediately
- →Monitor CVE-2026-23177 in threat intel feeds
- →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts