Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
virtio_balloon: quiesce balloon work before device shutdown
Commit 8bd2fa086a04 ("virtio: break and reset virtio devices on
device_shutdown()") added a generic virtio bus .shutdown handler that
breaks and resets every virtio device during device_shutdown(), i.e. on
reboot and kexec.
virtio_balloon provides no .shutdown of its own, so that generic path
runs while the balloon's asynchronous work is still armed. Once the
device has been broken, virtqueue_add_inbuf() in
virtballoon_free_page_report() returns -EIO and trips its
WARN_ON_ONCE(). On a kernel booted with panic_on_warn that turns an
ordinary reboot, for example a kexec based upgrade, into a fatal panic
in the middle of device_shutdown(), so the machine never reaches the
new kernel.
Relaxing that single WARN_ON_ONCE() would only hide the symptom: the
inflate/deflate and OOM paths do not warn, they call
wait_event(vb->acked, ...) and would instead block forever on a broken
queue that can no longer complete. The device has to be quiesced, not
just kept quiet.
Add a .shutdown handler that quiesces the balloon via the shared
virtballoon_quiesce() helper while the device is still alive, and only
then breaks and resets it via virtio_device_shutdown(). Unlike
virtballoon_remove() the balloon workqueue is not destroyed, as shutdown
does not free the device and cancel_work_sync() together with stop_update
already prevent any further work from being queued.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.1.191 – < 6.2, 6.6.160 – < 6.7, 6.12.114 – < 6.13, 6.14.9 – < 6.15, 6.15 | 6.2 |
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 | 7.2.6-1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux | 7.0.0-42.42 | USN-8959-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-aws | 7.0.0-1016.17 | USN-8959-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-azure | 7.0.0-1020.21 | USN-9019-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-azure-fde | 7.0.0-1019.19 | USN-9020-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-gcp | 7.0.0-1016.18 | USN-8959-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-gke | 7.0.0-1010.11 | USN-9020-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-ibm +1 | 7.0.0-1017.17 | USN-8960-1, USN-8959-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-nvidia +1 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-oracle | 7.0.0-1015.16 | USN-8959-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-raspi | 7.0.0-1023.23 | USN-9021-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-realtime | 7.0.0-43.43.1 | USN-9020-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-riscv | 7.0.0-42.42.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-aws-7.0 | 7.0.0-1017.18~24.04.1 | USN-9020-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-azure-fde-7.0 | 7.0.0-1019.19~24.04.1 | USN-9020-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gcp-7.0 | 7.0.0-1017.19~24.04.1 | USN-9020-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-hwe-7.0 | 7.0.0-42.42~24.04.1 | USN-8959-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-oracle-7.0 | 7.0.0-1016.18~24.04.1 | USN-9020-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-riscv +29 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-riscv-7.0 | 7.0.0-42.42.1~24.04.1 | — |
| 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 | — |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | kernel-source | 7.2.7-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:11880-1 |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2023 | kernel-livepatch-6.18.54-121.166 | 1:1.0-0.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2026-3192 |
| Amazon Linux 2023 | perf6.18 +12 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2026-3192 |
Advisories 8
- USN-9021-1 linux-raspi vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 12, 2026
- WID-SEC-2026-3444 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-9020-1 linux-aws-7.0, linux-azure-fde, linux-azure-fde-7.0, linux-gcp-7.0, linux-gke, linux-oracle-7.0, linux-realtime vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-8959-1 linux, linux-aws, linux-gcp, linux-hwe-7.0, linux-ibm, linux-oracle vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-9019-1 linux-azure vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-8960-1 linux-oem-7.0 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 12, 2026
- ALAS2023-2026-3192 Important: kernel6.18 security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Oct 26, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:11880-1 kernel-devel-7.2.7-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Sep 25, 2026