KVM: nVMX: Put vmcs12 pages if nested VM-Enter fails due to invalid guest state
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
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
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- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 3 without a fix
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: nVMX: Put vmcs12 pages if nested VM-Enter fails due to invalid guest state Put all vmcs12 pages if KVM synthesizes a nested VM-Exit due to invalid guest while emulating VMLAUNCH or VMRESUME. The invalid guest state path doesn't use nested_vmx_vmexit() as that API is intended to be used if and only if L2 is active, and the open coded equivalent neglects to put the vmcs12 pages. Failure to put the vmcs12 pages leaks any pinned pages (and/or mappings) if L1 retries VMLAUNCH/VMRESUME. Note, the !from_vmenter scenario doesn't suffer the same problem, as vmx_get_nested_state_pages() only gets/pins/maps the vmcs12 pages if L2 is active, i.e. if a "full" VM-Exit is guaranteed before KVM will retry getting vmcs12 pages.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.191, 6.6.160, 6.12.114, 6.18.40, 7.1.5, 7.2
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-2026-68081
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-8ff4-44g5-rp4f
- 2026-10-16 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-16 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-10-21 Fix available: Linux/[email protected], Linux/[email protected], Linux/Linux@a7bf4f5b19965e4466040ad6b24919c1ed326a84 +1 · CNA
- 2026-10-21 2 new references · CNA
- 2026-10-30 Fix available: Linux/[email protected], Linux/Linux@c174eb76484786721ae9a104344b952acf0e2717 · CNA
- 2026-10-30 1 new reference · CNA
References
Other 6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c174eb76484786721ae9a104344b952acf0e2717
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a7bf4f5b19965e4466040ad6b24919c1ed326a84
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f42669f931a6f45e5918cf5e99989b9a6c65e655
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7996013b85687034d2e820cef94d6404192e3a3d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2c87a087c20632d68920272173b5d7c47f9bcf70
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2f2312c422fd2695da772cecb30c69994b795964
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Sources
- CVE-2026-68081 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-68081 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-8ff4-44g5-rp4f · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-68081 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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