CVE-2026-64561
KVM: x86: Check for invalid/obsolete root *after* making MMU pages available
No known exploitation. EPSS puts it in the 6th percentile. No fix published yet.
What to do
No fixed build or workaround is published yet. Limit exposure and watch for a patch.
What it is
From the CVE record
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: x86: Check for invalid/obsolete root *after* making MMU pages available Check for a "stale" page fault, i.e. for an invalid and/or obsolete root, after making MMU pages available for the shadow MMU. If reclaiming shadow pages zaps an in-use root, i.e. marks it invalid, then KVM will attempt to map memory into an invalid root. On its own, populating an invalid root is "fine", but because child shadow pages inherit their parent's role, any children created during the map/fetch will be created as invalid pages, thus violating KVM's invariant that invalid pages are never on the list of active MMU pages. Note, the underlying flaw has existed since KVM first started tracking invalid roots in 2008 (commit 2e53d63acba7, "KVM: MMU: ignore zapped root pagetables"), but the true badness only came along in 2020 (Linux 5.9) with the invariant that invalid shadow pages can't be on the list of active pages. Note #2, inheriting role.invalid when creating child shadow pages is also far from ideal; that flaw will be addressed separately.
In plain language
No plain-language summary for this CVE yet.
Exploitation
Where each signal puts this CVE on the scale from published to confirmed exploited.
- CISA KEV
Not in the catalog. CISA has not confirmed exploitation.
- Public exploits
No public exploit or proof of concept found in the sources we track.
- EPSS
0.2% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, which ranks it in the 6th percentile of scored CVEs.
Exploit Prediction Scoring System, FIRST.org. A probability, not a confirmation.
Lifecycle
9 events over 30 days, from the signal feeds we watch.
- Record updated
- Record updated
- Record updated
- Record updated
- OpenVAS check addedrecord updated
- Publishedrecord updated
Affected products
Technical detail
CVSS 3.1 vector
Open in the CVSS calculatorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Scored 8.8 by NVD.
How it is reached
- Attack Vector LocalRequires local access to the vulnerable system (e.g. local login, malicious file)
- Attack Complexity LowNo special conditions — the attack can be reliably reproduced
- Privileges Required LowRequires basic user-level privileges
- User Interaction NoneNo user interaction needed — fully automated exploitation
Scope
- Scope ChangedThe exploit can affect other components (e.g. sandbox escape, host compromise from VM)
Impact if exploited
- Confidentiality HighTotal information disclosure — all data in the component is compromised
- Integrity HighTotal loss of integrity — attacker can modify any data in the component
- Availability HighTotal denial of service — the component is completely unavailable
Sources
References in the record
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/62ef67af1878fa2cd066642f2f59e33ade95f637
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/65c4f7a1028cf01a93a2762d679c289810ede990
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/35e77467610c4a37cb0ff54ee56b85f73b1f5700
And 5 more references. See all after sign-in
In the news
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