Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Local /dev/kvm access gives PR:L; the required race and non-default rmap-MMU precondition raise AC to H; kernel memory corruption yields high C/I/A with no scope change.
Primary rating from NVD.
CVSS VectorNVD
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Lifecycle Timeline
8DescriptionNVD
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
KVM: Reject wrapped offset in kvm_reset_dirty_gfn()
kvm_reset_dirty_gfn() guards the gfn range with
if (!memslot || (offset + __fls(mask)) >= memslot->npages) return;
but offset is u64 and the addition is unchecked. The check can be silently bypassed by a u64 wrap.
The dirty ring backing those entries is MAP_SHARED at KVM_DIRTY_LOG_PAGE_OFFSET of the vcpu fd, so the VMM can rewrite the slot and offset fields of any entry between when the kernel pushes them and when KVM_RESET_DIRTY_RINGS consumes them. On reset, kvm_dirty_ring_reset() re-reads the values via READ_ONCE() and feeds them straight back into this check; only the flags handshake is treated as the handover, the slot/offset payload is taken on trust.
Crafting two entries
entry[i].offset = 0xffffffffffffffc1 entry[i+1].offset = 0
makes the coalescing loop in kvm_dirty_ring_reset() compute
delta = (s64)(0 - 0xffffffffffffffc1) = 63
which falls in [0, BITS_PER_LONG), so it folds entry[i+1] into the existing mask by setting bit 63. The trailing kvm_reset_dirty_gfn() call then sees offset = 0xffffffffffffffc1 and __fls(mask) = 63; the sum is 0 in u64 and the bounds check passes.
That offset propagates into kvm_arch_mmu_enable_log_dirty_pt_masked() unchanged. On the legacy MMU path -- kvm_memslots_have_rmaps() == true, i.e. shadow paging, any VM that has allocated shadow roots, or a write-tracked slot -- it reaches gfn_to_rmap(), which indexes slot->arch.rmap[0][] with a near-U64_MAX gfn. That is an out-of-bounds load of a kvm_rmap_head, followed by a conditional clear of PT_WRITABLE_MASK in whatever the loaded pointer points at. The path is reachable from any process holding /dev/kvm.
Range-check offset on its own first, so the addition cannot wrap. memslot->npages is bounded well below U64_MAX, so once offset < npages holds, offset + __fls(mask) (with __fls(mask) < BITS_PER_LONG) stays in range.
AnalysisAI
Local privilege-relevant memory corruption in the Linux kernel's KVM subsystem (kvm_reset_dirty_gfn) lets any process holding /dev/kvm bypass a dirty-ring bounds check via a u64 integer overflow, driving a near-U64_MAX guest frame number into gfn_to_rmap() for an out-of-bounds kvm_rmap_head load and a conditional write-flag clear. Affected are kernels from 5.11 through the 7.x line running VMs on the shadow-paging (legacy/rmap) MMU path. …
Unlock full vulnerability intelligence
- Risk assessment & exploitation conditions
- Attack chain visualization
- Remediation with exact patch versions
- Threat intelligence from 22 sources
- Personal watchlist & email alerts
Free forever · No credit card required
Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata
Vulnerability AssessmentAI
| Exploitation | Requires local code execution as a process that holds an open handle to /dev/kvm (PR:L - not root, but not an anonymous remote attacker). … Additional conditions and limiting factors are described in the full assessment. |
| Risk Assessment | The vendor CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H = 7.8) is consistent with the description: exploitation is local, requires only that the attacking process hold an open /dev/kvm handle (a low-privilege prerequisite, not root), needs no user interaction, and yields high confidentiality/integrity/availability impact through kernel memory corruption. … Full risk analysis with EPSS, KEV, and SSVC signal comparison available after sign-in. |
| Exploit Scenario | A low-privilege local user or container/VM-management process that can open /dev/kvm creates a VM using dirty-ring logging, then races the shared MAP_SHARED ring to craft two entries with offsets 0xffffffffffffffc1 and 0 so the reset path's bounds check wraps and passes. On the shadow-paging MMU path this drives a near-U64_MAX gfn into gfn_to_rmap(), producing an out-of-bounds kvm_rmap_head load and a conditional clear of PT_WRITABLE_MASK in attacker-influenced kernel memory, corrupting kernel state toward privilege escalation or denial of service. … |
| Remediation | Vendor-released patch: upgrade to a fixed stable kernel - 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.6.141, 6.12.91, 7.0.10, or 6.18.33 (mainline 7.1) - matching your maintained series, and consume your distribution's backported build (track Red Hat's advisory at https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-52969 and CSAF VEX at https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-52969.json). … Detailed patch versions, workarounds, and compensating controls in full report. |
Recommended ActionAI
Within 24 hours, identify all Linux systems running kernel versions 5.11 through 7.x with KVM enabled, prioritizing production virtualization infrastructure. …
Sign in for detailed remediation steps and compensating controls.
Threat intelligence, references, and detailed analysis are available after sign-in.
Same weakness CWE-190 – Integer Overflow or Wraparound
View allSame technique Integer Overflow
View allShare
External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2026-38837
GHSA-gpq6-rrxf-v33x