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CVE-2026-98927

Linux: KVM: arm64: nv: Fix life cycle of the nested_mmus array

Linux LinuxOperating systems
CVSS
NoneNot scored
ExploitationNo known exploitationNot in CISA KEV, which does not prove it is unexploitedCISA KEV
Exploit odds (EPSS)No scoreNo FIRST EPSS score in this snapshot yet
Fixed in81e3f065a6485626f816d791dfd5e00ddd12eff5Also 512c93f4461b9a3735987f48423d438a9cd49e6a, 33346f8960c7bb6a3b4e273b5cfe25c5a8be349fCVE List
Published23 Oct 2026Updated 23 Oct 2026CVE List

What fixes it

  • 81e3f065a6485626f816d791dfd5e00ddd12eff5LinuxCVE List
  • 512c93f4461b9a3735987f48423d438a9cd49e6aLinuxCVE List
  • 33346f8960c7bb6a3b4e273b5cfe25c5a8be349fLinuxCVE List

A fixed version on one release line is not the upgrade target for every line. Check your exact version and any vendor backports.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

KVM: arm64: nv: Fix life cycle of the nested_mmus array

The nested_mmus array holds the shadow page tables that are used when a guest is running a nested context. These structures are allocated on VCPU_INIT for whole guest, which implies that they may have to be relocated as the array grows.

Should a VCPU_INIT occur whilst a vcpu is actively running an L2 and that the allocation requires relocation, that vcpu will still be running with a pointer to the previous structure, which will have been freed.

Fix this by turning the array of structures to an array of pointers, which is now allocated at VM creation, sized to the absolute maximum that KVM can handle.

In turn, each VCPU_INIT contributes S2_MMU_PER_VCPU to the pool. No reallocation is ever performed, and the life cycle of each object is much clearer:

  • the nested_mmus array is allocated in kvm_init_nested(), and freed

in kvm_arch_destroy_vm()

  • s2_mmu structures are allocated in kvm_vcpu_init_nested(), and freed

on kvm_arch_flush_shadow_all()

Finally, the freeing of vcpu->arch.vncr_array is made consistent rather than being done on some failure paths, but not others.

Text from CVE List

Affected versions 10

  • Linuxaffected: 4f128f8e1aaac189f83d0f828bcdb2986d8d2e51 before ea242bdc29e8a8ff0e2447a64b3841114779f3afCVE List
  • Linuxaffected: 4f128f8e1aaac189f83d0f828bcdb2986d8d2e51 before 81e3f065a6485626f816d791dfd5e00ddd12eff5CVE List
  • Linuxaffected: 4f128f8e1aaac189f83d0f828bcdb2986d8d2e51 before 512c93f4461b9a3735987f48423d438a9cd49e6aCVE List
  • Linuxaffected: 4f128f8e1aaac189f83d0f828bcdb2986d8d2e51 before 33346f8960c7bb6a3b4e273b5cfe25c5a8be349fCVE List
  • Linuxaffected: 6.11CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: all versions before 6.11CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 6.12.113 through 6.12.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 6.18.56 through 6.18.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 7.2.9 through 7.2.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 7.3CVE List

References 4