KVM: x86/pmu: Disable support for adaptive PEBS
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · Low · None
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 5 fixed, 3 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: x86/pmu: Disable support for adaptive PEBS Drop support for virtualizing adaptive PEBS, as KVM's implementation is architecturally broken without an obvious/easy path forward, and because exposing adaptive PEBS can leak host LBRs to the guest, i.e. can leak host kernel addresses to the guest. Bug #1 is that KVM doesn't account for the upper 32 bits of IA32_FIXED_CTR_CTRL when (re)programming fixed counters, e.g fixed_ctrl_field() drops the upper bits, reprogram_fixed_counters() stores local variables as u8s and truncates the upper bits too, etc. Bug #2 is that, because KVM _always_ sets precise_ip to a non-zero value for PEBS events, perf will _always_ generate an adaptive record, even if the guest requested a basic record. Note, KVM will also enable adaptive PEBS in individual *counter*, even if adaptive PEBS isn't exposed to the guest, but this is benign as MSR_PEBS_DATA_CFG is guaranteed to be zero, i.e. the guest will only ever see Basic records. Bug #3 is in perf. intel_pmu_disable_fixed() doesn't clear the upper bits either, i.e. leaves ICL_FIXED_0_ADAPTIVE set, and intel_pmu_enable_fixed() effectively doesn't clear ICL_FIXED_0_ADAPTIVE either. I.e. perf _always_ enables ADAPTIVE counters, regardless of what KVM requests. Bug #4 is that adaptive PEBS *might* effectively bypass event filters set by the host, as "Updated Memory Access Info Group" records information that might be disallowed by userspace via KVM_SET_PMU_EVENT_FILTER. Bug #5 is that KVM doesn't ensure LBR MSRs hold guest values (or at least zeros) when entering a vCPU with adaptive PEBS, which allows the guest to read host LBRs, i.e. host RIPs/addresses, by enabling "LBR Entries" records. Disable adaptive PEBS support as an immediate fix due to the severity of the LBR leak in particular, and because fixing all of the bugs will be non-trivial, e.g. not suitable for backporting to stable kernels. Note! This will break live migration, but trying to make KVM play nice with live migration would be quite complicated, wouldn't be guaranteed to work (i.e. KVM might still kill/confuse the guest), and it's not clear that there are any publicly available VMMs that support adaptive PEBS, let alone live migrate VMs that support adaptive PEBS, e.g. QEMU doesn't support PEBS in any capacity.
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 | 6.0 and later | 6.1.88, 6.6.29, 6.8.8, 6.9 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.0 and later Fixed in 6.1.88, 6.6.29, 6.8.8, 6.9 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 5
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.0 to before 6.1.88; 6.2 to before 6.6.29; 6.7 to before 6.8.8 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.9:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.9 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.9:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.9 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.9:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.9 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.9:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.9 rc4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.0 to before 6.1.88; 6.2 to before 6.6.29; 6.7 to before 6.8.8 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.9:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.9 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.9:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.9 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.9:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.9 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.9:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.9 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.88, 6.6.29, 6.8.8, 6.9
Red Hat 1 advisory
- RHSA-2024:9315 Released 2024-11-12 · Red Hat rating Moderatekernel security update
- Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) kernel-cross-headers-5.14.0-503.11.1.el9_5, kernel-tools-libs-devel-5.14.0-503.11.1.el9_5, libperf-5.14.0-503.11.1.el9_5
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) kernel-64k-debug-devel-5.14.0-503.11.1.el9_5, kernel-64k-debug-devel-matched-5.14.0-503.11.1.el9_5, kernel-64k-devel-5.14.0-503.11.1.el9_5 +12
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) bpftool-7.4.0-503.11.1.el9_5, kernel-5.14.0-503.11.1.el9_5, kernel-64k-5.14.0-503.11.1.el9_5 +30
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-503.11.1.el9_5, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-503.11.1.el9_5, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-503.11.1.el9_5 +9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-503.11.1.el9_5, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-503.11.1.el9_5, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-503.11.1.el9_5 +11
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:9315 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:9315 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:9315 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:9315 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:9315 |
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9)
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9)
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2024-26992
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-wm2r-7vm2-cpg9
References
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
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- 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-2024-26992 · CVE Program
- CVE-2024-26992 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-wm2r-7vm2-cpg9 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2024-26992 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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