Linux xen/gntalloc driver allocates before checking grant count
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
- Fixed
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
The Linux kernel xen/gntalloc driver is affected from 2.6.39 onward, with fixes listed per stable branch. The gntalloc_ioctl_alloc() function allocates the grant-id array before checking the requested count against the global grant limit, so a user-controlled count reaches the allocation. Counts above the limit cannot succeed, but they are still allocated first.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
Description from the CNA
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xen/gntalloc: validate grant count before allocation gntalloc_ioctl_alloc() allocates the grant-id array before checking whether the requested count fits within the global grant limit. Counts above that limit cannot succeed, so reject them before the user-controlled allocation reaches kcalloc(). Use a subtraction-based check while holding gref_mutex so adding the requested count cannot wrap. Also cast the count before advancing the per-file index so the page-size multiplication is performed in 64-bit arithmetic.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
Update the Linux kernel to 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.111, 6.18.53 or 7.2, or to a kernel that includes the fixing commits in the affected ranges.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.111, 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
- 2026-10-23 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-98900
- 2026-10-23 Alias added: GHSA-mwrq-hx54-3h97
- 2026-10-26 Fix available: Linux/Linux@0 · CNA
- 2026-10-26 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-26 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-11-06 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
Other 7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e2806390aa1c4d5b3f7a68f10a56ae12c71c00d8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/71a0cf87e19fb35c4292ca88985e376e613c900a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/641de086a05f349de7fc548612432bc2fed721ca
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/720554c04acba80018ded069d3e0984bebaee891
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/84d5727cef8eb9c8a28210ad248f1c70b223b065
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/231542f4e43cf9837cb520664545e85fbe666b7b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2299822f3f466b5dcad2377bf63986199f881a6b
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Sources
- CVE-2026-98900 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-98900 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-mwrq-hx54-3h97 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-98900 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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