Local denial of service via unlocked vmcs12 access
Published Aug 6, 2026 · Updated Aug 6, 2026
Improper locking in Linux KVM allows local users with /dev/kvm access to crash hosts configured to panic on kernel warnings. vmx_update_cr8_intercept() fetches vmcs12 before is_guest_mode() is tested, violating get_vmcs12()'s vCPU-mutex requirement during vCPU creation. The trigger requires KVM access, an in-kernel interrupt controller, unavailable or disabled APICv, lockdep, and panic_on_warn=1; otherwise it emits a warning without memory corruption.
Summary
What happened
Improper locking in Linux KVM allows local users with /dev/kvm access to crash hosts configured to panic on kernel warnings. vmx_update_cr8_intercept() fetches vmcs12 before is_guest_mode() is tested, violating get_vmcs12()'s vCPU-mutex requirement during vCPU creation. The trigger requires KVM access, an in-kernel interrupt controller, unavailable or disabled APICv, lockdep, and panic_on_warn=1; otherwise it emits a warning without memory corruption.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-64604
- Published
- Aug 6, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 6, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 6, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 6, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
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- Affected versionversion=3.18
- Affected versionversion=a7c0b07d570848e50fce4d31ac01313484d6b844 <258ec63c0f281bf7b50f9de67c8e93b5b7be5ed4
- Affected versionversion=a7c0b07d570848e50fce4d31ac01313484d6b844 <3dcfb04dd43b16fa1240fc6487fff578ad57264c
- Affected versionversion=a7c0b07d570848e50fce4d31ac01313484d6b844 <570af5db081b87374594a00711ac5760d2ea6844
- Affected versionversion=a7c0b07d570848e50fce4d31ac01313484d6b844 <7ef78d71ca713d8c00f7c34ddcf276c808143f77
- Affected versionversion=a7c0b07d570848e50fce4d31ac01313484d6b844 <9a21f1defd96c6301c5fb462a78eb51b191bd2dd
- Affected versionversion=a7c0b07d570848e50fce4d31ac01313484d6b844 <c7cd3605244c924249dea32632e1bc3e89bda543
- Affected versionversion=a7c0b07d570848e50fce4d31ac01313484d6b844 <db8407b9fd06d857a4a5e8bcff1d086d13007711
- Affected versionversion=a7c0b07d570848e50fce4d31ac01313484d6b844 <ffaaff82336db84e9b58e7a3e81c2fd64e05ed7a
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What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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