Secure-memory exhaustion via page-in failure cleanup omission
Published Oct 18, 2026 · Updated Oct 18, 2026
A memory leak in Linux PowerPC KVM allows attackers to consume secure-memory capacity via failed Ultravisor page-in operations. In kvmppc_svm_page_in(), the uv_page_in() error path skips destination-page registration and release, preventing migration finalization from reclaiming the allocated page. The path requires POWER9/10 with Ultravisor/PEF; each failure consumes a pool entry and leaves a guest page unusable for the VM's lifetime, but attacker control of these errors is undocumented.
Summary
What happened
A memory leak in Linux PowerPC KVM allows attackers to consume secure-memory capacity via failed Ultravisor page-in operations. In kvmppc_svm_page_in(), the uv_page_in() error path skips destination-page registration and release, preventing migration finalization from reclaiming the allocated page. The path requires POWER9/10 with Ultravisor/PEF; each failure consumes a pool entry and leaves a guest page unusable for the VM's lifetime, but attacker control of these errors is undocumented.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-98433
- Published
- Oct 18, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 18, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- Unavailable
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 18, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Oct 18, 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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- Affected versionversion=5.5
- Affected versionversion=ca9f4942670c37407bb109090eaf776ce2ccc54c <0a416ee20bcccddf91ca5b63696a23b9d11d73aa
- Affected versionversion=ca9f4942670c37407bb109090eaf776ce2ccc54c <8f3b7746874b39fc20e0363c9076c7787d4765ba
- Affected versionversion=ca9f4942670c37407bb109090eaf776ce2ccc54c <a933d7024359e2e566b07903d1294b84f90482ae
- Affected versionversion=ca9f4942670c37407bb109090eaf776ce2ccc54c <c41088b2765af1e97e7bb05f906ae1823eca0388
- Affected versionversion=ca9f4942670c37407bb109090eaf776ce2ccc54c <dfb84274932737e338ff5eb27f34b4c8ecb01b50
- Affected versionversion=ca9f4942670c37407bb109090eaf776ce2ccc54c <ed2f2ff63cb7e71204096e765c6d02c3b6974b95
- Affected versionversion=ca9f4942670c37407bb109090eaf776ce2ccc54c <f3d4b2fc30c97cf8e6f8b880d2de9c17ecac7f5b
- Affected versionversion=ca9f4942670c37407bb109090eaf776ce2ccc54c <fcbff8008b0e08cd53b611bd0ff7e01f5b962f80
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
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.
Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
No sourced classifications are available.
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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