Bug 2460725 (CVE-2026-31458)

Summary: CVE-2026-31458 kernel: mm/damon/sysfs: check contexts->nr before accessing contexts_arr[0]
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security <prodsec-ir-bot>
Status: NEW --- QA Contact:
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Priority: medium    
Version: unspecifiedKeywords: Security
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Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
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A flaw was found in the Linux kernel. A privileged local user can exploit this by manipulating the `nr_contexts` parameter in the `mm/damon/sysfs` interface to zero while the DAMON (Data Access MONitor) subsystem is active. This leads to a null pointer dereference when certain sysfs commands are subsequently executed, potentially causing a system crash and a Denial of Service (DoS).
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Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-04-22 15:07:39 UTC
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

mm/damon/sysfs: check contexts->nr before accessing contexts_arr[0]

Multiple sysfs command paths dereference contexts_arr[0] without first
verifying that kdamond->contexts->nr == 1.  A user can set nr_contexts to
0 via sysfs while DAMON is running, causing NULL pointer dereferences.

In more detail, the issue can be triggered by privileged users like
below.

First, start DAMON and make contexts directory empty
(kdamond->contexts->nr == 0).

    # damo start
    # cd /sys/kernel/mm/damon/admin/kdamonds/0
    # echo 0 > contexts/nr_contexts

Then, each of below commands will cause the NULL pointer dereference.

    # echo update_schemes_stats > state
    # echo update_schemes_tried_regions > state
    # echo update_schemes_tried_bytes > state
    # echo update_schemes_effective_quotas > state
    # echo update_tuned_intervals > state

Guard all commands (except OFF) at the entry point of
damon_sysfs_handle_cmd().