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CVE-2026-23161

7.3 · HIGH

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/shmem, swap: fix race of truncate and swap entry split The helper for shmem swap freeing is not handling the order of swap e…

Published Feb 14, 2026CWE-362EPSS 0.10%

Overview

CVE-2026-23161 is a high-severity vulnerability. It was published on February 14, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.3 (HIGH).

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.3, rated HIGH. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.

Technical description

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

mm/shmem, swap: fix race of truncate and swap entry split

The helper for shmem swap freeing is not handling the order of swap

entries correctly. It uses xa_cmpxchg_irq to erase the swap entry, but it

gets the entry order before that using xa_get_order without lock

protection, and it may get an outdated order value if the entry is split

or changed in other ways after the xa_get_order and before the

xa_cmpxchg_irq.

And besides, the order could grow and be larger than expected, and cause

truncation to erase data beyond the end border. For example, if the

target entry and following entries are swapped in or freed, then a large

folio was added in place and swapped out, using the same entry, the

xa_cmpxchg_irq will still succeed, it's very unlikely to happen though.

To fix that, open code the Xarray cmpxchg and put the order retrieval and

value checking in the same critical section. Also, ensure the order won't

exceed

Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-23161?

CVE-2026-23161 is a high-severity vulnerability. It was published on February 14, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.3 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2026-23161?

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.3, rated HIGH. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.

How do I fix or remediate CVE-2026-23161?

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2026-23161?

CyberStrike is an open-source, AI-augmented pentesting engine. Rather than flag a version number, it tests whether an issue like CVE-2026-23161 is actually reachable in your own applications and APIs, then verifies each finding before reporting it. That tells you if the weakness is a real, exploitable risk in your environment or a false positive you can safely deprioritize.

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