KVM: x86/mmu: Ensure hugepage is in by slot before checking max mapping level
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: 5 fixed, 3 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-787 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: x86/mmu: Ensure hugepage is in by slot before checking max mapping level When recovering hugepages in the shadow MMU, verify that the base gfn of the shadow page is actually contained within the target memslot, *before* querying the max mapping level given the shadow page's gfn. Failure to pre-check the validity of the gfn can lead to an out-of-bounds access to the slot's lpage_info (which typically manifests as a host #PF because the lpage_info is vmalloc'd) if the guest creates a hugepage mapping (in its PTEs) that extends "below" the bounds of a memslot. When faulting in memory for a guest, and the size of the guest mapping is greater than KVM's (current) max mapping, then KVM will create a "direct" shadow page (direct in that there are no gPTEs to shadow, and so the target gfn is a direct calculation given the base gfn of the shadow page). The hugepage recovery flow looks for such direct shadow pages, as forcing 4KiB mappings when dirty logging generates the guest > host mapping size case. When the 4KiB restriction is lifted, then KVM can replace the shadow page with a hugepage. But if KVM originally used a smaller mapping than the guest because the range of memory covered by the guest hugepage exceeds the bounds of a memslot, then KVM will link a direct shadow page with a gfn that is outside the bounds of the memslot being used to fault in memory. The rmap entry added for the leaf mapping is correct and within bounds, but the gfn of the leaf SPTE's parent shadow page will be out of bounds. BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffffc90000806ffc #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 100000067 P4D 100000067 PUD 1002a7067 PMD 10612f067 PTE 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP CPU: 13 UID: 1000 PID: 757 Comm: mmu_stress_test Not tainted 7.1.0-rc1-48ce1e26eace-x86_pir_to_irr_comments-vm #341 PREEMPT Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 0.0.0 02/06/2015 RIP: 0010:kvm_mmu_max_mapping_level+0x79/0x2b0 [kvm] Call Trace: <TASK> kvm_mmu_recover_huge_pages+0x21b/0x320 [kvm] kvm_set_memslot+0x1ee/0x590 [kvm] kvm_set_memory_region.part.0+0x3a1/0x4d0 [kvm] kvm_vm_ioctl+0x9bf/0x15d0 [kvm] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x8a/0xd0 do_syscall_64+0xb7/0xbb0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 RIP: 0033:0x7f21c0f1a9bf </TASK> Don't bother pre-checking the bounds of the potential hugepage, i.e. don't check that e.g. sp->gfn + KVM_PAGES_PER_HPAGE(sp->role.level + 1) is also within the memslot, as the checks performed by kvm_mmu_max_mapping_level() are a superset of the basic bounds checks. I.e. pre-checking the full range would be a dubious micro-optimization.
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 | 5.12 and later | 5.15.211, 6.1.177, 6.6.144, 6.12.95, 6.18.38, 7.1.3, 7.2 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.12 and later Fixed in 5.15.211, 6.1.177, 6.6.144, 6.12.95, 6.18.38, 7.1.3, 7.2 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.12 to before 5.15.211; 5.16 to before 6.1.177; 6.2 to before 6.6.144; 6.7 to before 6.12.95; 6.13 to before 6.18.38; 6.19 to before 7.1.3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.12 to before 5.15.211; 5.16 to before 6.1.177; 6.2 to before 6.6.144; 6.7 to before 6.12.95; 6.13 to before 6.18.38; 6.19 to before 7.1.3 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.15.211, 6.1.177, 6.6.144, 6.12.95, 6.18.38, 7.1.3, 7.2
Red Hat 1 advisory
- RHSA-2026:49030 Released 2026-07-31 · Red Hat rating Moderatekernel security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v. 10.0) kernel-64k-debug-devel-6.12.0-55.94.1.el10_0, kernel-64k-debug-devel-matched-6.12.0-55.94.1.el10_0, kernel-64k-devel-6.12.0-55.94.1.el10_0 +12
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v. 10.0) kernel-6.12.0-55.94.1.el10_0, kernel-64k-6.12.0-55.94.1.el10_0, kernel-64k-core-6.12.0-55.94.1.el10_0 +28
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v. 10.0) kernel-tools-libs-devel-6.12.0-55.94.1.el10_0, libperf-6.12.0-55.94.1.el10_0
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time EUS (v. 10.0) kernel-rt-6.12.0-55.94.1.el10_0, kernel-rt-64k-6.12.0-55.94.1.el10_0, kernel-rt-64k-core-6.12.0-55.94.1.el10_0 +21
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV EUS (v. 10.0) kernel-rt-6.12.0-55.94.1.el10_0, kernel-rt-core-6.12.0-55.94.1.el10_0, kernel-rt-debug-6.12.0-55.94.1.el10_0 +11
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 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v. 10.0) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:49030 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v. 10.0) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:49030 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v. 10.0) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:49030 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time EUS (v. 10.0) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:49030 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV EUS (v. 10.0) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:49030 |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-63807
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-xxf6-pvjr-qhj4
- 2026-10-16 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-19 Weakness changed · CISA ADP
References
Patch 7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7b52008023b7facf40fba3ebe92449bda8ea53b9
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5cab1c989f938f5e1b9a0de66486f1fc2c28479b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/48b91ed7e22bb82571c34f8b80b6ecdc90a6fab8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c5c29b3c268332afe67d598a034c58344540ed92
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/18587f9831612e24cd8f24be1ec15478feff7abc
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b2ae3245ea44dccaa9af676b6747476951883318
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ef057cbf825e03b63f6edf5980f96abf3c53089d
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Sources
- CVE-2026-63807 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-63807 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-xxf6-pvjr-qhj4 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-63807 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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