Undefined behaviour in `kvm_ioctls::ioctls::vm::VmFd::create_device`
Key facts
- Attack vector
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- Privileges required
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- User interaction
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- Attack complexity
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- Impact type
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- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
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- Fix status
- Fixed
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from GitHub.
Summary
An issue was identified in the `VmFd::create_device function`, leading to undefined behavior and miscompilations on rustc 1.82.0 and newer due to the function's violation of Rust's pointer safety rules. The function downcasted a mutable reference to its `struct kvm_create_device` argument to an immutable pointer, and then proceeded to pass this pointer to a mutating system call. Rustc 1.82.0 and newer elides subsequent reads of this structure's fields, meaning code will not see the value written by the kernel into the `fd` member. Instead, the code will observe the value that this field was initialized to prior to calling `VmFd::create_device` (usually, 0). The issue started in kvm-ioctls 0.1.0 and was fixed in 0.19.1 by correctly using a mutable pointer.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | kvm-ioctls (crates.io) | before 0.19.1 | 0.19.1 | Patch available | GHSA-3qx8-rv27-j6gp |
- kvm-ioctls (crates.io) Vendor— Affected before 0.19.1 Fixed in 0.19.1 Patch available GHSA-3qx8-rv27-j6gp
Remediation
- Fix · GHSA-3qx8-rv27-j6gp kvm-ioctls (crates.io) Fixed in 0.19.1 Advisory →
Timeline
- 2026-10-03 Threatist record created from GHSA-3qx8-rv27-j6gp
References
Sources
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