CVE-2024-50017: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: x86/mm/ident_map: Use gbpages only where full GB page should be mapped.

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: x86/mm/ident_map: Use gbpages only where full GB page should be mapped.

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: x86/mm/ident_map: Use gbpages only where full GB page should be mapped. When ident_pud_init() uses only GB pages to create identity maps, large ranges of addresses not actually requested can be included in the resulting table; a 4K request will map a full GB. This can include a lot of extra address space past that requested, including areas marked reserved by the BIOS. That allows processor speculation into reserved regions, that on UV systems can cause system halts. Only use GB pages when map creation requests include the full GB page of space. Fall back to using smaller 2M pages when only portions of a GB page are included in the request. No attempt is made to coalesce mapping requests. If a request requires a map entry at the 2M (pmd) level, subsequent mapping requests within the same 1G region will also be at the pmd level, even if adjacent or overlapping such requests could have been combined to map a full GB page. Existing usage starts with larger regions and then adds smaller regions, so this should not have any great consequence.

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

What it means for a small business

Linux is on the computers, phones or browsers your team uses every day. Turn on automatic updates and restart: most of these fixes only take effect after a restart.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.22%, higher than 12% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 29, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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