linux — security advisory
Since Linux kernel version 3.2, the mremap() syscall performs TLB flushes after dropping pagetable locks. If a syscall such as ftruncate() removes entries from the pagetables of a task that is in the middle of mremap(), a stale TLB entry can remain for a short time that permits access to a physical page after it has been released back to the page allocator and reused. This is fixed in the following kernel versions: 4.9.135, 4.14.78, 4.18.16, 4.19.
- Products
- linux
- Affected versions
- Not specified
- Fixed versions
- 4.18.20-1
- CVEs
- CVE-2018-18281
- Confirmed fixed CVEs
- Not specified
- Updated in this feed
- 1 Nov 2026, 00:09 UTC · Revision 1
Source evidence
Since Linux kernel version 3.2, the mremap() syscall performs TLB flushes after dropping pagetable locks. If a syscall such as ftruncate() removes entries from the pagetables of a task that is in the middle of mremap(), a stale TLB entry can remain for a short time that permits access to a physical page after it has been released back to the page allocator and reused. This is fixed in the following kernel versions: 4.9.135, 4.14.78, 4.18.16, 4.19.
osv:DEBIAN-CVE-2018-18281
linux
Fixed versions: 4.18.20-1
linux
Fixed versions: 4.18.20-1
linux
Fixed versions: 4.18.20-1
Complete source record
{
"id": "cd95b465139f12c626d8747a0d66d434c76791cdf1a67fdbd6f11a4fe356c3b9",
"url": "https://osv.dev/vulnerability/DEBIAN-CVE-2018-18281",
"method": "structured",
"payload": {
"kind": "advisory",
"title": "DEBIAN-CVE-2018-18281",
"summary": "Since Linux kernel version 3.2, the mremap() syscall performs TLB flushes after dropping pagetable locks. If a syscall such as ftruncate() removes entries from the pagetables of a task that is in the middle of mremap(), a stale TLB entry can remain for a short time that permits access to a physical page after it has been released back to the page allocator and reused. This is fixed in the following kernel versions: 4.9.135, 4.14.78, 4.18.16, 4.19.",
"evidence": "osv:DEBIAN-CVE-2018-18281",
"products": [
{
"name": {
"value": "linux",
"evidence": "/affected/0/package/name"
},
"prerequisites": [],
"fixed_versions": [
{
"value": "4.18.20-1",
"evidence": "/affected/0/ranges"
}
],
"affected_versions": []
},
{
"name": {
"value": "linux",
"evidence": "/affected/1/package/name"
},
"prerequisites": [],
"fixed_versions": [
{
"value": "4.18.20-1",
"evidence": "/affected/1/ranges"
}
],
"affected_versions": []
},
{
"name": {
"value": "linux",
"evidence": "/affected/2/package/name"
},
"prerequisites": [],
"fixed_versions": [
{
"value": "4.18.20-1",
"evidence": "/affected/2/ranges"
}
],
"affected_versions": []
}
],
"severity": "high",
"structured": {
"id": "DEBIAN-CVE-2018-18281",
"aliases": [
"DEBIAN-CVE-2018-18281"
],
"metrics": [
{
"type": "CVSS_V3",
"score": "CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
}
],
"affected": [
{
"ranges": [
{
"type": "ECOSYSTEM",
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "4.18.20-1"
}
]
}
],
"package": {
"name": "linux",
"purl": "pkg:deb/debian/linux?arch=source&distro=bookworm",
"ecosystem": "Debian:12"
},
"database_specific": {
"source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2018-18281.json"
},
"ecosystem_specific": {
"urgency": "not yet assigned"
}
},
{
"ranges": [
{
"type": "ECOSYSTEM",
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "4.18.20-1"
}
]
}
],
"package": {
"name": "linux",
"purl": "pkg:deb/debian/linux?arch=source&distro=trixie",
"ecosystem": "Debian:13"
},
"database_specific": {
"source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2018-18281.json"
},
"ecosystem_specific": {
"urgency": "not yet assigned"
}
},
{
"ranges": [
{
"type": "ECOSYSTEM",
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "4.18.20-1"
}
]
}
],
"package": {
"name": "linux",
"purl": "pkg:deb/debian/linux?arch=source&distro=forky",
"ecosystem": "Debian:14"
},
"database_specific": {
"source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/debian-osv/debian-cve-osv/DEBIAN-CVE-2018-18281.json"
},
"ecosystem_specific": {
"urgency": "not yet assigned"
}
}
],
"modified": "2026-10-23T18:03:02.204670878Z",
"provider": "osv",
"upstream": [
"CVE-2018-18281"
],
"references": [
"https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2018-18281"
]
},
"related_cves": [
{
"value": "CVE-2018-18281",
"evidence": "/upstream"
}
],
"security_relevant": true,
"severity_evidence": "/severity/0/score"
},
"source_id": "core-osv",
"document_id": 420186,
"published_at": "2018-10-30T18:29:00.737+00:00"
}