CVE-2026-72278

Guest-triggered instability via stale VNCR translation

Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026

Improper permission handling in Linux KVM for arm64 6.16 allows guest OS users to disrupt nested virtualization through VNCR page access. KVM can retain a read-only PFN after an initial VNCR read, then handles a later write abort without invalidating the VNCR TLB and translating the page again. Reachability requires an arm64 host running KVM nested virtualization and a guest that reads the VNCR page before writing it; published vendor scoring bounds the demonstrated impact to host-side availability.

CVSS severity9.3
Critical
EPSS probability0.19%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper permission handling in Linux KVM for arm64 6.16 allows guest OS users to disrupt nested virtualization through VNCR page access. KVM can retain a read-only PFN after an initial VNCR read, then handles a later write abort without invalidating the VNCR TLB and translating the page again. Reachability requires an arm64 host running KVM nested virtualization and a guest that reads the VNCR page before writing it; published vendor scoring bounds the demonstrated impact to host-side availability.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-72278
Published
Aug 15, 2026
Updated
Aug 15, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-280
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 15, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 15, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=2a359e072596fcb2e9e85017a865e3618a2fe5b5 <0a5dd8cf4d58ea28da132c2097cd1c525302ac48
  2. Affected versionversion=2a359e072596fcb2e9e85017a865e3618a2fe5b5 <bb645aa0a4caeaf7f9cd32e9a948594d434c1a8f
  3. Affected versionversion=2a359e072596fcb2e9e85017a865e3618a2fe5b5 <ea7a76d7d614b5f82b4d0785f9af3550e860a71a
  4. Affected versionversion=6.16

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=2a359e072596fcb2e9e85017a865e3618a2fe5b5 <0a5dd8cf4d58ea28da132c2097cd1c525302ac48; version=2a359e072596fcb2e9e85017a865e3618a2fe5b5 <bb645aa0a4caeaf7f9cd32e9a948594d434c1a8f; version=2a359e072596fcb2e9e85017a865e3618a2fe5b5 <ea7a76d7d614b5f82b4d0785f9af3550e860a71a; version=6.16

Published CVSS scores

5.5Red HatCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
3.3Amazon LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
9.3Linux Kernel CNACVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-280Improper Handling of Insufficient Permissions or Privileges

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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