CVE-2026-89931Hinoki check available

Host memory leak via uncleared nested-state request

Published Sep 16, 2026 · Updated Sep 16, 2026

Memory leak in KVM nVMX in Linux 6.8 allows local users with KVM access to retain duplicate vmcs12 page mappings during nested VM-Exit. The VM-Exit path conditionally skips kvm_check_request, leaving KVM_REQ_GET_NESTED_STATE_PAGES set after an aborted VM-Entry before VMLAUNCH or VMRESUME. Exploitation requires x86 nested VMX and access to create or run KVM guests; repeated triggering retains host page references and consumes host memory.

CVSS severityUnavailable
Unscored
EPSS probabilityUnavailable
No score available in this record
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkAvailable
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Summary

What happened

Memory leak in KVM nVMX in Linux 6.8 allows local users with KVM access to retain duplicate vmcs12 page mappings during nested VM-Exit. The VM-Exit path conditionally skips kvm_check_request, leaving KVM_REQ_GET_NESTED_STATE_PAGES set after an aborted VM-Entry before VMLAUNCH or VMRESUME. Exploitation requires x86 nested VMX and access to create or run KVM guests; repeated triggering retains host page references and consumes host memory.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-89931
Published
Sep 16, 2026
Updated
Sep 16, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 16, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 16, 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?

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  1. Affected versionversion=6.8
  2. Affected versionversion=b4f69df0f65e97fec439130a0d0a8b9c7cc02df2 <11722439fb206c88e6f31be54173efa9880b4ccb
  3. Affected versionversion=b4f69df0f65e97fec439130a0d0a8b9c7cc02df2 <674a3244f07f323f21a106a7bdcaebb6db6a5058
  4. Affected versionversion=b4f69df0f65e97fec439130a0d0a8b9c7cc02df2 <ae190f2439ca30067927077bf570d4c5edf07a0f
  5. Affected versionversion=b4f69df0f65e97fec439130a0d0a8b9c7cc02df2 <bbec4adc2f340d85f4a77a9ddcddaa6b1f4639c5

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=6.8; version=b4f69df0f65e97fec439130a0d0a8b9c7cc02df2 <11722439fb206c88e6f31be54173efa9880b4ccb; version=b4f69df0f65e97fec439130a0d0a8b9c7cc02df2 <674a3244f07f323f21a106a7bdcaebb6db6a5058; version=b4f69df0f65e97fec439130a0d0a8b9c7cc02df2 <ae190f2439ca30067927077bf570d4c5edf07a0f; version=b4f69df0f65e97fec439130a0d0a8b9c7cc02df2 <bbec4adc2f340d85f4a77a9ddcddaa6b1f4639c5

Published CVSS scores

No CVSS assessment is available in this record.

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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

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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