# CVE-2026-89966: mm/hugetlb_cma: fix null nodemask dereference in hugetlb_cma_alloc_frozen_folio

> An unprivileged local user can crash the Linux kernel by triggering a null pointer dereference during gigantic hugepage allocation on systems with specific CMA configurations.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 16 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2026-89966, GHSA-j92g-qm8v-9jw7, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-89966

## What is CVE-2026-89966?

CVE-2026-89966 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 16 Sep 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

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

mm/hugetlb_cma: fix null nodemask dereference in hugetlb_cma_alloc_frozen_folio

alloc_buddy_hugetlb_folio_with_mpol() can pass a NULL nodemask to
alloc_fresh_hugetlb_folio() as a fallback to allocate from all nodes.  If
order is gigantic, alloc_fresh_hugetlb_folio() propagates the NULL
nodemask down to hugetlb_cma_alloc_frozen_folio() via
alloc_gigantic_frozen_folio().

Additionally, hugetlb_cma_alloc_frozen_folio() previously attempted
allocation on hugetlb_cma[nid] without verifying if nid is included in the
caller's nodemask.  Adding a node_isset(nid, *nodemask) check ensures the
initial preferred node allocation honors the memory policy / nodemask.

However, hugetlb_cma_alloc_frozen_folio() dereferences the nodemask in
node_isset(nid, *nodemask) and for_each_node_mask(node, *nodemask),
leading to a null pointer dereference kernel panic when nodemask is NULL.

Fix this by checking if nodemask is NULL in
hugetlb_cma_alloc_frozen_folio() and defaulting it to
cpuset_current_mems_allowed.  Enclose the allocation attempts within the
cpuset seqcount retry loop so that if the cpuset changes concurrently
during allocation, the attempts are retried using the updated nodemask. 
This ensures that the initial node check and fallback loop safely honor
the task's cpuset without violating cpuset constraints or causing NULL
pointer dereferences or unexpected allocation failures.

From a userspace perspective, this bug allows an unprivileged user to
crash the kernel (trigger a panic) by requesting a gigantic hugepage
allocation with MPOL_PREFERRED_MANY on a system where CMA is only
configured on a subset of NUMA nodes.

This can be reproduced by booting a VM with two NUMA nodes, restricting
CMA to Node 1 (e.g., hugetlb_cma=1:1G default_hugepagesz=1G hugepagesz=1G
hugepages=0), and running a program that allocates a 1GB hugepage area
without reserving, restricts allocation to Node 0 using mbind() with
MPOL_PREFERRED_MANY, and triggers a page fault:

  void *ptr = mmap(NULL, 1UL << 30, PROT_READ | PROT_WRITE,
                   MAP_PRIVATE | MAP_ANONYMOUS | MAP_HUGETLB |
                   MAP_HUGE_1GB | MAP_NORESERVE, -1, 0);
  unsigned long nodemask = 1; /* Node 0 */
  mbind(ptr, 1UL << 30, MPOL_PREFERRED_MANY, &nodemask,
        sizeof(nodemask) * 8, 0);
  memset(ptr, 0, 1UL << 30); /* Trigger fault */

This results in a NULL pointer dereference:

  BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000
  #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode
  #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page
  Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI
  RIP: 0010:hugetlb_cma_alloc_frozen_folio+0x75/0x120
  Call Trace:
   <TASK>
   only_alloc_fresh_hugetlb_folio.isra.0+0x2c/0x160
   alloc_surplus_hugetlb_folio+0x6d/0x100
   alloc_hugetlb_folio+0x3c5/0x660
   hugetlb_no_page+0x3d9/0x650

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-89966?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-89966?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-89966 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-89966 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-89966 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-89966 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 16 Sep 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-89966 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-89966/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-89966/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-89966
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-89966
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-89966

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-89966/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.