Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
KVM: x86/mmu: Only WARN in direct MMUs when overwriting shadow-present SPTE
Adjust KVM's sanity check against overwriting a shadow-present SPTE with a
another SPTE with a different target PFN to only apply to direct MMUs,
i.e. only to MMUs without shadowed gPTEs. While it's impossible for KVM
to overwrite a shadow-present SPTE in response to a guest write, writes
from outside the scope of KVM, e.g. from host userspace, aren't detected
by KVM's write tracking and so can break KVM's shadow paging rules.
------------[ cut here ]------------
pfn != spte_to_pfn(*sptep)
WARNING: arch/x86/kvm/mmu/mmu.c:3069 at mmu_set_spte+0x1e4/0x440 [kvm], CPU#0: vmx_ept_stale_r/872
Modules linked in: kvm_intel kvm irqbypass
CPU: 0 UID: 1000 PID: 872 Comm: vmx_ept_stale_r Not tainted 7.0.0-rc2-eafebd2d2ab0-sink-vm #319 PREEMPT
Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 0.0.0 02/06/2015
RIP: 0010:mmu_set_spte+0x1e4/0x440 [kvm]
Call Trace:
<TASK>
ept_page_fault+0x535/0x7f0 [kvm]
kvm_mmu_do_page_fault+0xee/0x1f0 [kvm]
kvm_mmu_page_fault+0x8d/0x620 [kvm]
vmx_handle_exit+0x18c/0x5a0 [kvm_intel]
kvm_arch_vcpu_ioctl_run+0xc55/0x1c20 [kvm]
kvm_vcpu_ioctl+0x2d5/0x980 [kvm]
__x64_sys_ioctl+0x8a/0xd0
do_syscall_64+0xb5/0x730
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53
</TASK>
---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]---
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.16 | 6.18.21 |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | linux | 6.19.11-1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-vmware | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 25.10 | linux +8 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-riscv +23 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-riscv +32 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-gke +28 | No fix yet | — |
Show 3 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-gcp +14 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | linux-hwe-edge | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-realtime-6.14 +1 | No fix yet | — |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2023 | kernel-livepatch-6.18.25-52.107 | 1:1.0-0.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2026-1746 |
| Amazon Linux 2023 | perf6.18 +11 | 1:6.18.25-52.107.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2026-1746 |
Advisories 2
- WID-SEC-2026-0950 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Oct 4, 2026
- ALAS2023-2026-1746 Important: kernel6.18 security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Jul 1, 2026