KVM: nSVM: Sync interrupt shadow to cached vmcb12 after VMRUN of L2
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 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: nSVM: Sync interrupt shadow to cached vmcb12 after VMRUN of L2 After VMRUN in guest mode, nested_sync_control_from_vmcb02() syncs fields written by the CPU from vmcb02 to the cached vmcb12. This is because the cached vmcb12 is used as the authoritative copy of some of the controls, and is the payload when saving/restoring nested state. int_state is also written by the CPU, specifically bit 0 (i.e. SVM_INTERRUPT_SHADOW_MASK) for nested VMs, but it is not sync'd to cached vmcb12. This does not cause a problem if KVM_SET_NESTED_STATE preceeds KVM_SET_VCPU_EVENTS in the restore path, as an interrupt shadow would be correctly restored to vmcb02 (KVM_SET_VCPU_EVENTS overwrites what KVM_SET_NESTED_STATE restored in int_state). However, if KVM_SET_VCPU_EVENTS preceeds KVM_SET_NESTED_STATE, an interrupt shadow would be restored into vmcb01 instead of vmcb02. This would mostly be benign for L1 (delays an interrupt), but not for L2. For L2, the vCPU could hang (e.g. if a wakeup interrupt is delivered before a HLT that should have been in an interrupt shadow). Sync int_state to the cached vmcb12 in nested_sync_control_from_vmcb02() to avoid this problem. With that, KVM_SET_NESTED_STATE restores the correct interrupt shadow state, and if KVM_SET_VCPU_EVENTS follows it would overwrite it with the same value.
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 | 5.8 and later | 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.6.140, 6.12.86, 6.18.27, 7.0.4, 7.1 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.8 and later Fixed in 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.6.140, 6.12.86, 6.18.27, 7.0.4, 7.1 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.8 to before 5.10.258; 5.11 to before 5.15.209; 5.16 to before 6.1.175; 6.2 to before 6.6.140; 6.7 to before 6.12.86; 6.13 to before 6.18.27; 6.19 to before 7.0.4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.8 to before 5.10.258; 5.11 to before 5.15.209; 5.16 to before 6.1.175; 6.2 to before 6.6.140; 6.7 to before 6.12.86; 6.13 to before 6.18.27; 6.19 to before 7.0.4 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.6.140, 6.12.86, 6.18.27, 7.0.4, 7.1
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. 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 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-45987
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-x4f8-qj9g-g99w
- 2026-11-06 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Patch 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0c1f74d8b74d8a31751fb6ea5417e48e02c93b58
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4b44aa1a134e499c4517597118378b308602a16c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e39a77a9b1e17d2d831c304eafac4c41a784a0be
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1709418535a8df95532999d61b03d59975280258
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2f950eeb27af6885416232761700b8820cae0a61
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/497f6af9679fc9c6ce2f438e11ed5d51b1aa8297
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e0377e52f3c10ee572732d11b04625b7f517a862
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/03bee264f8ebfd39e0254c98e112d033a7aa9055
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Sources
- CVE-2026-45987 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-45987 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-x4f8-qj9g-g99w · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-45987 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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