CVE-2026-98259: fs/dax: check zero or empty entry before converting xarray entry
Noroxi assessment
Priority: Monitor (action score 0/100)
- The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
- Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.16% (FIRST EPSS).
- Fixed version: Linux Linux 185cd2f5fe1e3319853cf065905b2885ad0bcbf8, 44ab7420ab52ab6c04bf225cac7c5c007cedd6c7, 8e2b8614039853e68d5338e37821e8bcee9fc05f.
Low priority for now. Upgrade to Linux Linux 185cd2f5fe1e3319853cf065905b2885ad0bcbf8, 44ab7420ab52ab6c04bf225cac7c5c007cedd6c7, 8e2b8614039853e68d5338e37821e8bcee9fc05f or later.
Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it
Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs/dax: check zero or empty entry before converting xarray entry Calling dax_to_folio() with empty entry causes kernel panic below when booting a VM with DAX enabled storage. This patch checks empty entry before calling dax_to_folio() on dax_associate_entry(), dax_disassociate_entry(), and dax_busy_page(). Commit 98c183a4fccf ("fs/dax: don't disassociate zero page entries") added guards in the associate and disassociate paths, but the guards still come after dax_to_folio(), and dax_busy_page() still has the same problem. [ 0.737679] EXT4-fs (pmem0p1): mounted filesystem 79676804-7c8b-491a-b2a6-9bae3c72af70 ro with ordered data mode. Quota mode: disabled. [ 0.737891] VFS: Mounted root (ext4 filesystem) readonly on device 259:1. [ 0.739119] devtmpfs: mounted [ 0.739476] Freeing unused kernel memory: 1920K [ 0.740156] Run /sbin/init as init process [ 0.740229] with arguments: [ 0.740286] /sbin/init [ 0.740321] with environment: [ 0.740369] HOME=/ [ 0.740400] TERM=linux [ 0.743162] Unable to handle kernel paging request at virtual address fffffdffbf000008 [ 0.743285] Mem abort info: [ 0.743316] ESR = 0x0000000096000006 [ 0.743371] EC = 0x25: DABT (current EL), IL = 32 bits [ 0.743444] SET = 0, FnV = 0 [ 0.743489] EA = 0, S1PTW = 0 [ 0.743545] FSC = 0x06: level 2 translation fault [ 0.743610] Data abort info: [ 0.743656] ISV = 0, ISS = 0x00000006, ISS2 = 0x00000000 [ 0.743720] CM = 0, WnR = 0, TnD = 0, TagAccess = 0 [ 0.743785] GCS = 0, Overlay = 0, DirtyBit = 0, Xs = 0 [ 0.743848] swapper pgtable: 4k pages, 48-bit VAs, pgdp=00000000b9d17000 [ 0.743931] [fffffdffbf000008] pgd=10000000bfa3d403, p4d=10000000bfa3d403, pud=1000000040bfe403, pmd=0000000000000000 [ 0.744070] Internal error: Oops: 0000000096000006 [#1] SMP [ 0.748888] CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 1 Comm: init Not tainted 6.18.4 #1 NONE [ 0.749421] pstate: 004000c5 (nzcv daIF +PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) [ 0.749969] pc : dax_disassociate_entry.constprop.0+0x20/0x50 [ 0.750444] lr : dax_insert_entry+0xcc/0x408 [ 0.750802] sp : ffff80008000b9e0 [ 0.751083] x29: ffff80008000b9e0 x28: 0000000000000000 x27: 0000000000000000 [ 0.751682] x26: 0000000001963d01 x25: ffff0000004f7d90 x24: 0000000000000000 [ 0.752264] x23: 0000000000000000 x22: ffff80008000bcc8 x21: 0000000000000011 [ 0.752836] x20: ffff80008000ba90 x19: 0000000001963d01 x18: 0000000000000000 [ 0.753407] x17: 0000000000000000 x16: 0000000000000000 x15: 0000000000000000 [ 0.753970] x14: ffffbf3154b9ae70 x13: 0000000000000000 x12: ffffbf3154b9ae70 [ 0.754548] x11: ffffffffffffffff x10: 0000000000000000 x9 : 0000000000000000 [ 0.755122] x8 : 000000000000000d x7 : 000000000000001f x6 : 0000000000000000 [ 0.755707] x5 : 0000000000000000 x4 : 0000000000000000 x3 : fffffdffc0000000 [ 0.756287] x2 : 0000000000000008 x1 : 0000000040000000 x0 : fffffdffbf000000 [ 0.756871] Call trace: [ 0.757107] dax_disassociate_entry.constprop.0+0x20/0x50 (P) [ 0.757592] dax_iomap_pte_fault+0x4fc/0x808 [ 0.757951] dax_iomap_fault+0x28/0x30 [ 0.758258] ext4_dax_huge_fault+0x80/0x2dc [ 0.758594] ext4_dax_fault+0x10/0x3c [ 0.758892] __do_fault+0x38/0x12c [ 0.759175] __handle_mm_fault+0x530/0xcf0 [ 0.759518] handle_mm_fault+0xe4/0x230 [ 0.759833] do_page_fault+0x17c/0x4dc [ 0.760144] do_translation_fault+0x30/0x38 [ 0.760483] do_mem_abort+0x40/0x8c [ 0.760771] el0_ia+0x4c/0x170 [ 0.761032] el0t_64_sync_handler+0xd8/0xdc [ 0.761371] el0t_64_sync+0x168/0x16c [ 0.761677] Code: f9453021 f2dfbfe3 cb813080 8b001860 (f9400401) [ 0.762168] ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- [ 0.762550] note: init[1] exited with irqs disabled [ 0.762631] Kernel panic - not syncing: Attempted to kill init! exitcode=0x0000000b
- Published
- Oct 6, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 19, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.1% · 5th percentile
- CWE
- —
Report tools
Action score
0
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 0 / 40 · —
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.1%
Get told when this record changes
- Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
- No public exploit code on record
- A fix has been released
If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.
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Noroxi analysis
What does it mean in your environment?
The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
Is your version affected?
Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.
—
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (Linux). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
Linux Linux
- 6.15affected
- 38607c62b34b46317c46d5baf1df03ac6e48a1c6 and later · before 44ab7420ab52ab6c04bf225cac7c5c007cedd6c7affected · git
- 38607c62b34b46317c46d5baf1df03ac6e48a1c6 and later · before 185cd2f5fe1e3319853cf065905b2885ad0bcbf8affected · git
- 38607c62b34b46317c46d5baf1df03ac6e48a1c6 and later · before 8e2b8614039853e68d5338e37821e8bcee9fc05faffected · git
- before 6.15not affected · semver
- 6.18.54 and later · up to and including 6.18.*not affected · semver
- 7.2.8 and later · up to and including 7.2.*not affected · semver
- 7.3 and laternot affected · original_commit_for_fix
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:14 | linux | before 7.2.8-1 | 7.2.8-1 |
Same product
linux: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2026-74705udp: fix potential use-after-free in tunnel segmentation40Plan
- CVE-2026-74612veth: fix skb length accounting after XDP frag adjustment40Plan
- CVE-2026-74475vxlan: use neigh_ha_snapshot() in route_shortcircuit()40Plan
Published before and after this one in the same product
- ← EarlierCVE-2026-98257Oct 6, 2026 · rds: ib: use rds_conn_drop() on protocol version mismatch30Monitor
- ← EarlierCVE-2026-98258Oct 6, 2026 · posix-cpu-timers: Prevent freeing a timer which is queued on the expiry list31Monitor
- Later →CVE-2026-98260Oct 6, 2026 · exec: Cleanup POSIX timers right after de_thread()31Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Linux Linux | 185cd2f5fe1e3319853cf065905b2885ad0bcbf8 | Vendor (CNA) |
| Linux Linux | 44ab7420ab52ab6c04bf225cac7c5c007cedd6c7 | Vendor (CNA) |
| Linux Linux | 8e2b8614039853e68d5338e37821e8bcee9fc05f | Vendor (CNA) |
| debian:linux | 7.2.8-1 · Debian:14 | Package registry (OSV) |
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
- Published
- Fix recordedsame day
- TodayOct 31, 2026+25 d
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
No CVSS vector for this record, so attack conditions can't be derived.
Weakness class (CWE)
—
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.
Change log
- Exploit maturity— → none
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
Show all references (2 more)Show less
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.