virt: acrn: Fix irqfd use-after-free during eventfd shutdown
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: virt: acrn: Fix irqfd use-after-free during eventfd shutdown acrn_irqfd_deassign() and the eventfd EPOLLHUP wakeup can race and free the same struct hsm_irqfd: CPU0 CPU1 ---- ---- eventfd_release() wake_up_poll(EPOLLHUP) hsm_irqfd_wakeup() queue_work(&irqfd->shutdown) acrn_irqfd_deassign() hsm_irqfd_shutdown() list_del_init() eventfd_ctx_remove_wait_queue() eventfd_ctx_put() kfree(irqfd) hsm_irqfd_shutdown_work() container_of(work, ..., shutdown) irqfd->vm <-- use-after-free The deassign path freed the irqfd while a shutdown work item was already queued by EPOLLHUP (or vice versa), so the work item could resurrect a dangling pointer through container_of(). Switch to the lifetime model used by KVM irqfds: - Deassign/deinit only deactivate the irqfd: remove it from vm->irqfds under irqfds_lock and queue the cleanup work. - hsm_irqfd_shutdown_work() becomes the sole owner that unhooks the eventfd waitqueue entry, drops the eventfd reference and frees the irqfd. - A new HSM_IRQFD_FLAG_SHUTDOWN bit guarded by test_and_set_bit() ensures the cleanup work is queued at most once, no matter how many of {EPOLLHUP, deassign, deinit} fire concurrently. This is safe to call from the waitqueue callback, which runs with wqh->lock held and IRQs disabled and therefore cannot take irqfds_lock. - acrn_irqfd_deassign() flushes vm->irqfd_wq before returning so the eventfd is fully detached on return. acrn_irqfd_deinit() deactivates every irqfd, flushes the workqueue and only then destroys it, so no path can queue_work() onto a torn-down workqueue. - acrn_irqfd_assign() now installs the eventfd waitqueue entry and publishes the irqfd to vm->irqfds under irqfds_lock, so the irqfd is never visible to deassign/deinit before its waitqueue entry is in place, and any EPOLLHUP that fires in the assign window queues cleanup work that blocks on irqfds_lock until publication is done.
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, 6.18.53, 7.2
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
Not affected: 7 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
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-97478
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-97q3-wcm5-m49q
- 2026-10-21 Fix available: Linux/Linux@0e1152f689847b9db2f05454775d34610c1424c2, Linux/[email protected], Linux/[email protected] +1 · CNA
- 2026-10-21 2 new references · CNA
- 2026-10-30 Fix available: Linux/[email protected], Linux/Linux@dccf23a72a6c5ec8d9eab2a7f98e186af6eaff48 · CNA
- 2026-10-30 1 new reference · CNA
- 2026-10-30 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
Other 5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dccf23a72a6c5ec8d9eab2a7f98e186af6eaff48
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6e9e007ee1dfb54bc2d070550308077ec28dbaec
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0e1152f689847b9db2f05454775d34610c1424c2
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d8156aacfcabb81f52c20ef89094945434d08079
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/666c7f9e07925aa0863348f960e09bb89f8f05a3
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Sources
- CVE-2026-97478 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-97478 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-97q3-wcm5-m49q · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-97478 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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