KVM: SVM: Forcibly leave SMM mode on SHUTDOWN interception
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-416 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: SVM: Forcibly leave SMM mode on SHUTDOWN interception Previously, commit ed129ec9057f ("KVM: x86: forcibly leave nested mode on vCPU reset") addressed an issue where a triple fault occurring in nested mode could lead to use-after-free scenarios. However, the commit did not handle the analogous situation for System Management Mode (SMM). This omission results in triggering a WARN when KVM forces a vCPU INIT after SHUTDOWN interception while the vCPU is in SMM. This situation was reprodused using Syzkaller by: 1) Creating a KVM VM and vCPU 2) Sending a KVM_SMI ioctl to explicitly enter SMM 3) Executing invalid instructions causing consecutive exceptions and eventually a triple fault The issue manifests as follows: WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 25506 at arch/x86/kvm/x86.c:12112 kvm_vcpu_reset+0x1d2/0x1530 arch/x86/kvm/x86.c:12112 Modules linked in: CPU: 0 PID: 25506 Comm: syz-executor.0 Not tainted 6.1.130-syzkaller-00157-g164fe5dde9b6 #0 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.12.0-1 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:kvm_vcpu_reset+0x1d2/0x1530 arch/x86/kvm/x86.c:12112 Call Trace: <TASK> shutdown_interception+0x66/0xb0 arch/x86/kvm/svm/svm.c:2136 svm_invoke_exit_handler+0x110/0x530 arch/x86/kvm/svm/svm.c:3395 svm_handle_exit+0x424/0x920 arch/x86/kvm/svm/svm.c:3457 vcpu_enter_guest arch/x86/kvm/x86.c:10959 [inline] vcpu_run+0x2c43/0x5a90 arch/x86/kvm/x86.c:11062 kvm_arch_vcpu_ioctl_run+0x50f/0x1cf0 arch/x86/kvm/x86.c:11283 kvm_vcpu_ioctl+0x570/0xf00 arch/x86/kvm/../../../virt/kvm/kvm_main.c:4122 vfs_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:51 [inline] __do_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:870 [inline] __se_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:856 [inline] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x19a/0x210 fs/ioctl.c:856 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:51 [inline] do_syscall_64+0x35/0x80 arch/x86/entry/common.c:81 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x6e/0xd8 Architecturally, INIT is blocked when the CPU is in SMM, hence KVM's WARN() in kvm_vcpu_reset() to guard against KVM bugs, e.g. to detect improper emulation of INIT. SHUTDOWN on SVM is a weird edge case where KVM needs to do _something_ sane with the VMCB, since it's technically undefined, and INIT is the least awful choice given KVM's ABI. So, double down on stuffing INIT on SHUTDOWN, and force the vCPU out of SMM to avoid any weirdness (and the WARN). Found by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with Syzkaller. [sean: massage changelog, make it clear this isn't architectural behavior]
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
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 | 5.15.81 to before 5.16; 6.0.11 to before 6.1 | 5.16, 6.1 | Patch available | CNA |
| Linux | Linux | 6.1 and later | 6.1.191, 6.6.92, 6.12.29, 6.14.7, 6.15 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.15.81 to before 5.16; 6.0.11 to before 6.1 Fixed in 5.16, 6.1 Patch available CNA
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.1 and later Fixed in 6.1.191, 6.6.92, 6.12.29, 6.14.7, 6.15 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 9
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.15.81 to before 5.16; 6.0.11 to before 6.1; 6.1.1 to before 6.6.92; 6.7 to before 6.12.29; 6.13 to before 6.14.7 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1:-:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.1 rc7 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1:rc8:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.1 rc8 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.15 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.15 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.15 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.15 rc4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.15 rc5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.15.81 to before 5.16; 6.0.11 to before 6.1; 6.1.1 to before 6.6.92; 6.7 to before 6.12.29; 6.13 to before 6.14.7 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1:-:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.1 rc7 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1:rc8:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.1 rc8 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.15 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.15 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.15 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.15 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.15 rc5 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.16, 6.1
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.191, 6.6.92, 6.12.29, 6.14.7, 6.15
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2025-37957
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-5vj7-r55g-9xv7
- 2026-10-16 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-30 Fix available: Linux/[email protected], Linux/Linux@dc86a9cd181788f6cc4a2dbcd92ea6473dc2923f · CNA
- 2026-10-30 1 new reference · CNA
References
Patch 4
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-2025-37957 · CVE Program
- CVE-2025-37957 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-5vj7-r55g-9xv7 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2025-37957 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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