KVM: x86/mmu: Treat NX as a valid SPTE bit for NPT
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 3 fixed, 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: x86/mmu: Treat NX as a valid SPTE bit for NPT Treat the NX bit as valid when using NPT, as KVM will set the NX bit when the NX huge page mitigation is enabled (mindblowing) and trigger the WARN that fires on reserved SPTE bits being set. KVM has required NX support for SVM since commit b26a71a1a5b9 ("KVM: SVM: Refuse to load kvm_amd if NX support is not available") for exactly this reason, but apparently it never occurred to anyone to actually test NPT with the mitigation enabled. ------------[ cut here ]------------ spte = 0x800000018a600ee7, level = 2, rsvd bits = 0x800f0000001fe000 WARNING: CPU: 152 PID: 15966 at arch/x86/kvm/mmu/spte.c:215 make_spte+0x327/0x340 [kvm] Hardware name: Google, Inc. Arcadia_IT_80/Arcadia_IT_80, BIOS 10.48.0 01/27/2022 RIP: 0010:make_spte+0x327/0x340 [kvm] Call Trace: <TASK> tdp_mmu_map_handle_target_level+0xc3/0x230 [kvm] kvm_tdp_mmu_map+0x343/0x3b0 [kvm] direct_page_fault+0x1ae/0x2a0 [kvm] kvm_tdp_page_fault+0x7d/0x90 [kvm] kvm_mmu_page_fault+0xfb/0x2e0 [kvm] npf_interception+0x55/0x90 [kvm_amd] svm_invoke_exit_handler+0x31/0xf0 [kvm_amd] svm_handle_exit+0xf6/0x1d0 [kvm_amd] vcpu_enter_guest+0xb6d/0xee0 [kvm] ? kvm_pmu_trigger_event+0x6d/0x230 [kvm] vcpu_run+0x65/0x2c0 [kvm] kvm_arch_vcpu_ioctl_run+0x355/0x610 [kvm] kvm_vcpu_ioctl+0x551/0x610 [kvm] __se_sys_ioctl+0x77/0xc0 __x64_sys_ioctl+0x1d/0x20 do_syscall_64+0x44/0xa0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x46/0xb0 </TASK> ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]---
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 4.9.202 to before 4.10; 4.14.154 to before 4.15; 4.19.84 to before 4.20; 5.3.11 to before 5.4 | 4.10, 4.15, 4.20, 5.4 | Patch available | CNA |
| Linux | Linux | 5.4 and later | 5.19.2, 6.0 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 4.9.202 to before 4.10; 4.14.154 to before 4.15; 4.19.84 to before 4.20; 5.3.11 to before 5.4 Fixed in 4.10, 4.15, 4.20, 5.4 Patch available CNA
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.4 and later Fixed in 5.19.2, 6.0 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 3
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 4.9.202 to before 4.10; 4.14.154 to before 4.15; 4.19.84 to before 4.20; 5.3.11 to before 5.4; 5.4.1 to before 5.19.2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.4:-:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.4:rc8:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.4 rc8 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 4.9.202 to before 4.10; 4.14.154 to before 4.15; 4.19.84 to before 4.20; 5.3.11 to before 5.4; 5.4.1 to before 5.19.2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.4:-:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.4 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.4:rc8:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.4 rc8 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 4.10, 4.15, 4.20, 5.4
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.19.2, 6.0
Red Hat 1 advisory
- RHSA-2023:2458 Released 2023-05-09 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) kernel-64k-debug-devel-5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2, kernel-64k-debug-devel-matched-5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2, kernel-64k-devel-5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2 +10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) bpftool-7.0.0-284.11.1.el9_2, kernel-5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2, kernel-64k-5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2 +29
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 9) kernel-tools-libs-devel-5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:2458 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:2458 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:2458 |
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2022-50224
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-74p4-jx54-j5rv
- 2026-11-05 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2022-50224 · CVE Program
- CVE-2022-50224 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-74p4-jx54-j5rv · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2022-50224 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences