Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
x86/cpu: Remove X86_CR4_FRED from the CR4 pinned bits mask
Commit in Fixes added the FRED CR4 bit to the CR4 pinned bits mask so
that whenever something else modifies CR4, that bit remains set. Which
in itself is a perfectly fine idea.
However, there's an issue when during boot FRED is initialized: first on
the BSP and later on the APs. Thus, there's a window in time when
exceptions cannot be handled.
This becomes particularly nasty when running as SEV-{ES,SNP} or TDX
guests which, when they manage to trigger exceptions during that short
window described above, triple fault due to FRED MSRs not being set up
yet.
See Link tag below for a much more detailed explanation of the
situation.
So, as a result, the commit in that Link URL tried to address this
shortcoming by temporarily disabling CR4 pinning when an AP is not
online yet.
However, that is a problem in itself because in this case, an attack on
the kernel needs to only modify the online bit - a single bit in RW
memory - and then disable CR4 pinning and then disable SM*P, leading to
more and worse things to happen to the system.
So, instead, remove the FRED bit from the CR4 pinning mask, thus
obviating the need to temporarily disable CR4 pinning.
If someone manages to disable FRED when poking at CR4, then
idt_invalidate() would make sure the system would crash'n'burn on the
first exception triggered, which is a much better outcome security-wise.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.9 | 6.12.80 |
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 | — |
| Debian 13 | linux | 6.12.85-1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 25.10 | linux +8 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-riscv +26 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-riscv +32 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-gke +28 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-gcp +14 | No fix yet | — |
Show 2 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | linux-hwe-edge | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-realtime-6.14 +1 | No fix yet | — |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 SP7 | kernel-64kb +4 | 6.4.0-150700.53.73.2 | SUSE-SU-2026:3166-1 |
| SLES 15 SP7 | kernel-default-base | 6.4.0-150700.53.73.2.150700.17.41.4 | SUSE-SU-2026:3166-1 |
| SLES 15 SP7 | kernel-docs +2 | 6.4.0-150700.53.73.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3166-1 |
Show 5 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES for SAP 16.0 | kernel-64kb +8 | 6.12.0-160000.37.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:23231-1, SUSE-SU-2026:23221-1 |
| SLES for SAP 16.0 | kernel-default-base | 6.12.0-160000.37.1.160000.2.19 | SUSE-SU-2026:23231-1, SUSE-SU-2026:23221-1 |
| SLES 16.0 | kernel-64kb +8 | 6.12.0-160000.37.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:23237-1, SUSE-SU-2026:23231-1, SUSE-SU-2026:23221-1 |
| SLES 16.0 | kernel-default-base | 6.12.0-160000.37.1.160000.2.19 | SUSE-SU-2026:23231-1, SUSE-SU-2026:23221-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.2 | kernel-default-base | 6.12.0-160000.37.1.160000.2.19 | SUSE-SU-2026:23068-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.2 | kernel-rt +5 | 6.12.0-160000.37.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:23068-1, SUSE-SU-2026:23066-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP7 | kernel-default | 6.4.0-150700.53.73.2 | SUSE-SU-2026:3166-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP7 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP7-RT_Update_18 | 1-150700.1.5.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3130-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP7 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP7_Update_19 | 1-150700.15.3.4 | SUSE-SU-2026:3166-1 |
| SUSE Real Time Module 15 SP7 | kernel-rt +2 | 6.4.0-150700.7.67.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3130-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | kernel-default-base | 6.12.0-160000.37.1.160000.2.19 | openSUSE-SU-2026:21555-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | kernel-rt +11 | 6.12.0-160000.37.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:21555-1 |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2023 | kernel-livepatch-6.18.25-52.107 +1 | 1:1.0-0.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2026-1746, ALAS2023-2026-1646 |
| Amazon Linux 2023 | perf6.12 +14 | 1:6.12.80-105.147.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2026-1646 |
| Amazon Linux 2023 | perf6.18 +11 | 1:6.18.25-52.107.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2026-1746 |
Oracle Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Linux 9 | kernel-uek +34 | 6.12.0-204.92.4.2.el10uek | ELSA-2026-50372 |
Advisories 12
- WID-SEC-2026-1279 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 12, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:23231-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Aug 27, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:23237-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Aug 27, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:23221-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Aug 27, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:23066-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Aug 15, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:23068-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Aug 15, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:21555-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Aug 12, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:3166-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jul 22, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:3130-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jul 21, 2026
- ELSA-2026-50372 Important: Unbreakable Enterprise kernel security update (Oracle Linux 9) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Jul 2, 2026
- ALAS2023-2026-1746 Important: kernel6.18 security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Jul 1, 2026
- ALAS2023-2026-1646 Important: kernel6.12 security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · May 11, 2026