KVM: arm64: Correctly cap ZCR_EL2 provided by a guest hypervisor
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Security bypass
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-862.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: arm64: Correctly cap ZCR_EL2 provided by a guest hypervisor ZCR_EL2 can be updated by a VHE guest hypervisor either using ZCR_EL2 (which traps) or ZCR_EL1 (which does not trap). KVM handles both in different way: - on ZCR_EL2 trap, ZCR_EL2.LEN is immediately capped at the VM's own VL limit. This has the potential to break existing SW that relies on the full LEN field to be stateful. - on ZCR_EL1 access, we do absolutely nothing. On restoring the SVE context for an L2 guest, we directly restore the guest hypervisor's view of ZCR_EL2 into the physical ZCR_EL2. If the guest's view of the register was updated using the ZCR_EL2 accessor, the value has already been sanitised (with the caveat mentioned above). But if the guest used ZCR_EL1, the raw value is written into the HW, and the L2 guest can now access VLs that it shouldn't. Fix all the above by moving the VL capping to the restore points, ensuring that: - the HW is always programmed with a capped value, irrespective of the accessor being used, - the ZCR_EL2.LEN field is always completely stateful, irrespective of the accessor being used. Additionally, move ZCR_EL2 to be a sanitised register, ensuring that only the LEN field is actually stateful. This requires some creative construction of the RES0 mask, as the sysreg generation script does not yet generate RAZ/WI fields. [maz: rewrote commit message, tidy up access_zcr_el2()]
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 | 6.11 and later | 6.18.57, 7.0.12, 7.1 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.11 and later Fixed in 6.18.57, 7.0.12, 7.1 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 6
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.11 to before 6.18.57; 6.19 to before 7.0.12 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.1 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.1 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.1 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.1 rc4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.1 rc5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.11 to before 6.18.57; 6.19 to before 7.0.12 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.1 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.1 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.1 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.1 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.1 rc5 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.18.57, 7.0.12, 7.1
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
Not affected: 5 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-63941
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-9mxh-6wp4-9v6p
- 2026-10-16 Fix available: Linux/Linux@2090c1a2368339eab0e14dcde12fdf6a5ea6359d, Linux/[email protected] · CNA
- 2026-10-16 1 new reference · CNA
- 2026-10-16 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-19 Weakness changed · CISA ADP
- 2026-10-23 Weakness changed · NVD
References
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
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- TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- 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-2026-63941 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-63941 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-9mxh-6wp4-9v6p · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-63941 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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