Host memory corruption via MSI-X unmap race
Published Mar 25, 2026 · Updated Mar 25, 2026
Race condition in the Linux kernel PCI endpoint code allows local users to corrupt host memory or trigger IOMMU errors during MSI-X delivery. dw_pcie_ep_raise_msix_irq() issues a posted writel() and immediately unmaps its outbound ATU entry without flushing the write, so completion can occur after the mapping disappears. Reachability requires a DesignWare PCIe endpoint using MSI-X; losing the race can misdirect the write into host memory or produce IOMMU translation faults.
Summary
What happened
Race condition in the Linux kernel PCI endpoint code allows local users to corrupt host memory or trigger IOMMU errors during MSI-X delivery. dw_pcie_ep_raise_msix_irq() issues a posted writel() and immediately unmaps its outbound ATU entry without flushing the write, so completion can occur after the mapping disappears. Reachability requires a DesignWare PCIe endpoint using MSI-X; losing the race can misdirect the write into host memory or produce IOMMU translation faults.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-23361
- Published
- Mar 25, 2026
- Updated
- Mar 25, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- CWE-787
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Mar 25, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Mar 25, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
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- Affected versionversion=4.19
- Affected versionversion=beb4641a787df79a1423a8789d185b6b78fcbfea <6f60a783860c77b309f7d81003b6a0c73feca49e
- Affected versionversion=beb4641a787df79a1423a8789d185b6b78fcbfea <a7afb8f810c04845fdfc58c57d9cf0cc5f23ced0
- Affected versionversion=beb4641a787df79a1423a8789d185b6b78fcbfea <c22533c66ccae10511ad6a7afc34bb26c47577e3
- Affected versionversion=beb4641a787df79a1423a8789d185b6b78fcbfea <eaa6a56801ddd2d9b4980f19e7fe002b00994804
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What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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Weakness, pattern, technique
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Technologies
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