CVE-2024-58083: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: Explicitly verify target vCPU is online in kvm_get_vcpu() Explicitly verify...

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: Explicitly verify target vCPU is online in kvm_get_vcpu() Explicitly verify the target vCPU is fully online _prior_ to clamping the index in kvm_get_vcpu(). If the index is "bad", the nospec clamping will generate '0', i.e. KVM will return vCPU0 instead of NULL. In practice, the bug is unlikely to cause problems, as it will only come into play if userspace or the guest is buggy or misbehaving, e.g. KVM may send interrupts to vCPU0 instead of dropping them on the floor. However, returning vCPU0 when it shouldn't exist per online_vcpus is problematic now that KVM uses an xarray for the vCPUs array, as KVM needs to insert into the xarray before publishing the vCPU to userspace (see commit c5b077549136 ("KVM: Convert the kvm->vcpus array to a xarray")), i.e. before vCPU creation is guaranteed to succeed. As a result, incorrectly providing access to vCPU0 will trigger a use-after-free if vCPU0 is dereferenced and kvm_vm_ioctl_create_vcpu() bails out of vCPU creation due to an error and frees vCPU0. Commit afb2acb2e3a3 ("KVM: Fix vcpu_array[0] races") papered over that issue, but in doing so introduced an unsolvable teardown conundrum. Preventing accesses to vCPU0 before it's fully online will allow reverting commit afb2acb2e3a3, without re-introducing the vcpu_array[0] UAF race.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

7.8/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS Probability

0.19%

9.4th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-416

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 4.14.120, < 4.15
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 4.19.44, < 4.20
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 5.0.17, < 5.4.291
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 5.5, < 5.10.235
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 5.11, < 5.15.179
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 5.16, < 6.1.129
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 6.2, < 6.6.78
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 6.7, < 6.12.14
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 6.13, < 6.13.3

References

Timeline

Published: Mar 6, 2025
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-58083?

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: Explicitly verify target vCPU is online in kvm_get_vcpu() Explicitly verify the target vCPU is fully online _prior_ to clamping the index in kvm_get_vcpu(). If the index is "bad", the nospec clamping will generate '0', i.e. KVM will return vCPU0 instead of NULL. In practice, the bug is unlikely to cause problems, as it will only come into play if userspace or the guest is buggy or misbehaving, e.g. KVM may send interrupts to vCPU0 instead of dropping them on the floor. However, returning vCPU0 when it shouldn't exist per online_vcpus is problematic now that KVM uses an xarray for the vCPUs array, as KVM needs to insert into the xarray before publishing the vCPU to userspace (see commit c5b077549136 ("KVM: Convert the kvm->vcpus array to a xarray")), i.e. before vCPU creation is guaranteed to succeed. As a result, incorrectly providing access to vCPU0 will trigger a use-after-free if vCPU0 is dereferenced and kvm_vm_ioctl_create_vcpu() bails out of vCPU creation due to an error and frees vCPU0. Commit afb2acb2e3a3 ("KVM: Fix vcpu_array[0] races") papered over that issue, but in doing so introduced an unsolvable teardown conundrum. Preventing accesses to vCPU0 before it's fully online will allow reverting commit afb2acb2e3a3, without re-introducing the vcpu_array[0] UAF race.

How severe is CVE-2024-58083?

CVE-2024-58083 has a CVSS score of 7.8/10 (HIGH severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.19% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2024-58083?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.