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CVE-2026-23177

N/A Unknown
Denial of Service

📋 TL;DR

A race condition vulnerability in the Linux kernel's shared memory (shmem) subsystem can cause an infinite loop when truncating large swap entries. This affects Linux systems using shared memory and could lead to denial of service by consuming CPU resources indefinitely. All Linux systems with vulnerable kernel versions are potentially affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:
  • Linux Kernel
Versions: Specific affected versions not explicitly stated in CVE description; check kernel commit history for exact range.
Operating Systems: Linux distributions using affected kernel versions
Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes
Notes: Requires shared memory usage and specific race conditions during truncation operations.

⚠️ Manual Verification Required

This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.

Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).

🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.

Recommended Actions:
  1. Review the CVE details at NVD
  2. Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
  3. Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
  4. Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

System becomes unresponsive due to infinite loop consuming CPU resources, leading to denial of service and potential system instability.

🟠

Likely Case

Local denial of service affecting system performance and stability when specific shared memory operations occur.

🟢

If Mitigated

Minimal impact with proper kernel hardening and resource limits in place.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - Requires local access or ability to execute code on the system.
🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Local users or processes could trigger the infinite loop, affecting system stability.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No
Weaponized: UNKNOWN
Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No
Complexity: MEDIUM

Requires local access and ability to trigger specific race conditions in shared memory operations.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Kernel versions containing commits 2030dddf95451b4e7a389f052091e7c4b7b274c6, 7b6a0f121d50234aab3e7ab9a62ebe826d40a32a, or dfc3ab6bd64860f8022d69903be299d09be86e11

Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2030dddf95451b4e7a389f052091e7c4b7b274c6

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Linux kernel to patched version. 2. Check distribution-specific security advisories. 3. Reboot system after kernel update.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Limit shared memory usage

all

Restrict shared memory operations through system controls

sysctl -w kernel.shmall=0
sysctl -w kernel.shmmax=0

🧯 If You Can't Patch

  • Implement strict resource limits on user processes
  • Monitor system for abnormal CPU consumption patterns

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check kernel version and compare with patched commits: uname -r and examine kernel source for specific commits

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify kernel version includes the fix commits or is newer than affected versions

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

  • High CPU usage by kernel processes
  • System instability logs

Network Indicators:

  • None - local vulnerability only

SIEM Query:

Process:CPU_Usage > 90% AND Process:Name = 'kernel'

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2026-23177
CVSS v3 Score: N/A (Unknown)
Published: February 14, 2026
Last Updated: February 18, 2026

🔗 References

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