CVE-2026-90043: zram: fix slot lock bit position on big-endian 64-bit

Published Sep 16, 2026
·
Updated

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

zram: fix slot lock bit position on big-endian 64-bit

The slot lock is a bit operation on the whole lock word, which flags and actime alias as two u32s. On little-endian the lock bit lands in the position ZRAMENTRYLOCK reserves in flags, so the aliasing works out. On 64-bit big-endian it lands in actime instead: with ZRAMTRACKENTRYACTIME enabled, storing the access time from markslotaccessed() or slotfree() wipes out the held lock bit, letting another CPU take the same slot lock; an access time value with that bit set makes the slot look locked forever.

Shift the lock bit into the flags half of the word on big-endian 64-bit.

Affected Software

1 affected component
Linux Linux kernel

Event History

Sep 16, 2026
CVE Published
via MITRE·10:33 AM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·10:33 AM
Description

Frequently Asked Questions

1

Which systems are affected by this issue?

The issue affects 64-bit big-endian systems using zram when ZRAM_TRACK_ENTRY_ACTIME is enabled. The lock-bit aliasing behaves correctly on little-endian systems according to the provided information.

2

What can happen when the affected configuration is in use?

Writing an access time can clear a slot lock that is currently held, allowing another CPU to take the same slot lock. An access-time value containing the relevant bit can also cause a slot to appear locked indefinitely.

Contact

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