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Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 EUVDEUVD-2026-17113

| CVE-2026-5165 MEDIUM
Expired Pointer Dereference (CWE-825)
2026-03-30 redhat
6.7
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Expired pointer prevention
Impact

The CVSS 6.7 (Medium) score reflects an attack vector of local (not network-accessible) with high privilege requirement (PR:H), meaning only administrators or high-privileged processes can trigger the vulnerability. However, CVSS signals high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact (C:H, I:H, A:H), indicating that successful exploitation could allow memory corruption, data exfiltration, or system crash. The local + high-privilege constraint significantly reduces real-world attack surface compared to remote or unauthenticated exploits. SSVC considerations: exploitation requires triggering a device reset on a hypervisor-managed virtual device, which is not typically automated and requires hypervisor-level or guest administrator access. The lack of public exploit code and absence of KEV status suggest this is a lower-priority operational risk than remote code execution vulnerabilities, though the impact severity (memory corruption) warrants timely remediation during maintenance windows. Organizations should prioritize patching based on guest OS criticality and administrator trust boundaries.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An authenticated hypervisor administrator or a high-privileged guest OS administrator (e.g., SYSTEM on Windows guest) triggers a VirtIO Block device reset during maintenance or VM reconfiguration. The reset handler dereferences freed memory structures, allowing the attacker to corrupt adjacent kernel allocations or read sensitive data from freed memory regions. Depending on what data occupies the freed memory after reset, this could lead to privilege escalation within the guest or host hypervisor escape if memory layouts align favorably. No public proof-of-concept code is known at time of analysis.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
No patch listed yet 0.0% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Mar 30, 2026

VirtIO Block device driver in virtio-win fails to properly release memory during device reset, enabling a use-after-free vulnerability that allows high-privileged local attackers to corrupt kernel memory and cause system instability or denial of service. Affected versions span Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, 9, and 10; no public exploit code or active exploitation has been identified at time of analysis, though upstream fix is available via GitHub PR.

RemediationAI

Update virtio-win drivers to a patched version released after GitHub PR #1493 (https://github.com/virtio-win/kvm-guest-drivers-windows/pull/1493) is merged and tagged. Consult Red Hat advisory (https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-5165) for official errata and supported patched versions for RHEL 8, 9, and 10. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict device reset operations to trusted administrators only and disable unnecessary VirtIO Block device hot-plug/hot-unplug cycles where possible. Verify patch applicability with your guest OS version and re-test virtual disk I/O stability after patching.

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Technical ContextAI · show details

VirtIO is a standardized interface for efficient I/O virtualization in KVM and other hypervisors. The VirtIO Block (BLK) device driver handles virtual disk operations. The vulnerability resides in the reset code path-when the BLK device is reset (typically during VM lifecycle events or error recovery), the driver fails to properly deallocate or invalidate memory structures associated with pending I/O operations. This violates CWE-825 (Expired Pointer Dereference), where freed memory is accessed after being released, allowing an attacker with high privileges to write or read sensitive kernel state. The issue affects virtio-win's guest driver implementations across multiple Red Hat Enterprise Linux major versions, indicating either a common code base or shared dependency.

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 6.7 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Red Hat 6.7 MEDIUM

Primary rating from NVD.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
High
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

DescriptionCVE.org

A flaw was found in virtio-win, specifically within the VirtIO Block (BLK) device. When the device undergoes a reset, it fails to properly manage memory, resulting in a use-after-free vulnerability. This issue could allow a local attacker to corrupt system memory, potentially leading to system instability or unexpected behavior.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.0%
Top 99% exploitable
Data Quality
7 sources
Confidence: High
EUVD NVD CVE.org EPSS Vulnrichment Vendor GitHub

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.0%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Defer
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium
Technical Impact
Total

Priority Score

34
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +34
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.

Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org

cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:red_hat:red_hat_enterprise_linux_9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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Vendor StatusVendor

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