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CVE-2026-98719

Unknown

Last modified

CVE-2026-98719 is a vulnerability of currently unknown severity. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: SEV: Nullify "have run CPUs" mask pointer when freeing it Nullify have_run_cpus when freeing the mask, particularly in the error path of __sev_guest_init(), so that KVM doesn't have to subtly use sev->active to track whether or not the mask has been freed. As pointed out by Sashiko, blindly freeing the mask in sev_vm_destroy() results in a double-free if the mask is freed if __sev_guest_init() fails. Throw the logic in a helper as nullifying the pointer is frustratingly difficult and weird due to have_run_cpus being a single-entry array when CPUMASK_OFFSTACK=n.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: SEV: Nullify "have run CPUs" mask pointer when freeing it Nullify have_run_cpus when freeing the mask, particularly in the error path of __sev_guest_init(), so that KVM doesn't have to subtly use sev->active to track whether or not the mask has been freed. As pointed out by Sashiko, blindly freeing the mask in sev_vm_destroy() results in a double-free if the mask is freed if __sev_guest_init() fails. Throw the logic in a helper as nullifying the pointer is frustratingly difficult and weird due to have_run_cpus being a single-entry array when CPUMASK_OFFSTACK=n. Deliberately don't use CPUMASK_VAR_NULL, as it's not directly assignable when the cpumask is on-stack, e.g. requires using a local variable and a memcpy(), which is beyond ridiculous. Furthermore, while clearing the on-stack bitmask is an unnecessary and arguably unwanted side effect, KVM absolutely relies on '0' being the "null" value given that the struct is zero-allocated. Opportunistically add an alloc() helper to pair with free(); there are just enough call sites to make doing so worthwhile.

Affected Software

Source: CNA advisory (CVE.org). NVD analysis pending.

VendorProductVersions
LinuxLinux>= 6aef7cf800098749ff5d660222efaf6e01e98c09, < b1de3ebf59507e0edacaa5cfa2225bc1869e1b63; >= 9784e5ca91b37b387f3f414af4340c54f7a63566, < 0fbc7fec2242de6c3dcea6de55573c428e820173; >= 12c1f6e03f944e399bd2c88441dca5dc702b95a5, < 8abbc76120a74bfba1851bd97528099d715e45c6
LinuxLinux>= 6.18.55, < 6.18.56; >= 7.2.9, < 7.2.10

References

Timeline

Published
Last Modified
Status
Received

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-98719?
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: SEV: Nullify "have run CPUs" mask pointer when freeing it Nullify have_run_cpus when freeing the mask, particularly in the error path of __sev_guest_init(), so that KVM doesn't have to subtly use sev->active to track whether or not the mask has been freed. As pointed out by Sashiko, blindly freeing the mask in sev_vm_destroy() results in a double-free if the mask is freed if __sev_guest_init() fails. Throw the logic in a helper as nullifying the pointer is frustratingly difficult and weird due to have_run_cpus being a single-entry array when CPUMASK_OFFSTACK=n. Deliberately don't use CPUMASK_VAR_NULL, as it's not directly assignable when the cpumask is on-stack, e.g. requires using a local variable and a memcpy(), which is beyond ridiculous. Furthermore, while clearing the on-stack bitmask is an unnecessary and arguably unwanted side effect, KVM absolutely relies on '0' being the "null" value given that the struct is zero-allocated. Opportunistically add an alloc() helper to pair with free(); there are just enough call sites to make doing so worthwhile.
How severe is CVE-2026-98719?
Severity scoring for CVE-2026-98719 is pending analysis.
How do I fix CVE-2026-98719?
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.

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Source: NVD / NIST