CVE-2026-72286

Security protection bypass via incomplete SNP state transfer

Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026

State-management flaw in KVM SEV-SNP migration in Linux 6.11 allows local users to bypass guest security protections during mirroring. The migration and mirroring path fails to transfer or initialize guest_req_mutex, guest_req_buf, guest_resp_buf, and VMSA features, leaving inconsistent SNP state. Access to /dev/kvm and an SEV-SNP source VM are required; the state mismatch compromises guest confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

CVSS severity8.8
High
EPSS probability0.18%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

State-management flaw in KVM SEV-SNP migration in Linux 6.11 allows local users to bypass guest security protections during mirroring. The migration and mirroring path fails to transfer or initialize guest_req_mutex, guest_req_buf, guest_resp_buf, and VMSA features, leaving inconsistent SNP state. Access to /dev/kvm and an SEV-SNP source VM are required; the state mismatch compromises guest confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-72286
Published
Aug 15, 2026
Updated
Aug 15, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-909
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=1dfe571c12cf99244b933208fb77f29471ded677 <6ee4140788234a6fabf59e6a50e38cdb936008cd
  2. Affected versionversion=1dfe571c12cf99244b933208fb77f29471ded677 <b70404b89daad5f9f33f7ac640b1065cba639935
  3. Affected versionversion=1dfe571c12cf99244b933208fb77f29471ded677 <ba06690b28be950bd46d938d9b919c4024292627
  4. Affected versionversion=1dfe571c12cf99244b933208fb77f29471ded677 <d2f9df3b615ca0cd45899c090366945528186052
  5. Affected versionversion=6.11

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=1dfe571c12cf99244b933208fb77f29471ded677 <6ee4140788234a6fabf59e6a50e38cdb936008cd; version=1dfe571c12cf99244b933208fb77f29471ded677 <b70404b89daad5f9f33f7ac640b1065cba639935; version=1dfe571c12cf99244b933208fb77f29471ded677 <ba06690b28be950bd46d938d9b919c4024292627; version=1dfe571c12cf99244b933208fb77f29471ded677 <d2f9df3b615ca0cd45899c090366945528186052; version=6.11

Published CVSS scores

5.5Red HatCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
8.8Linux CNACVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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-909Missing Initialization of Resource

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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