Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

KVM: x86: Fix shadow paging use-after-free due to unexpected GFN

The shadow MMU computes GFNs for direct shadow pages using sp->gfn plus
the SPTE index. This assumption breaks for shadow paging if the guest
page tables are modified between VM entries (similar to commit
aad885e77496, "KVM: x86/mmu: Drop/zap existing present SPTE even
when creating an MMIO SPTE", 2026-03-27). The flow is as follows:

- a PDE is installed for a 2MB mapping, and a page in that area is
accessed. KVM creates a kvm_mmu_page consisting of 512 4KB pages;
the kvm_mmu_page is marked by FNAME(fetch) as direct-mapped because
the guest's mapping is a huge page (and thus contiguous).

- the PDE mapping is changed from outside the guest.

- the guest accesses another page in the same 2MB area. KVM installs
a new leaf SPTE and rmap entry; the SPTE uses the "correct" GFN
(i.e. based on the new mapping, as changed in the previous step) but
that GFN is outside of the [sp->gfn, sp->gfn + 511] range; therefore
the rmap entry cannot be found and removed when the kvm_mmu_page
is zapped.

- the memslot that covers the first 2MB mapping is deleted, and the
kvm_mmu_page for the now-invalid GPA is zapped. However, rmap_remove()
only looks at the [sp->gfn, sp->gfn + 511] range established in step 1,
and fails to find the rmap entry that was recorded by step 3.

- any operation that causes an rmap walk for the same page accessed
by step 3 then walks a stale rmap and dereferences a freed kvm_mmu_page.
This includes dirty logging or MMU notifier invalidations (e.g., from
MADV_DONTNEED).

The underlying issue is that KVM's walking of shadow PTEs assumes that
if a SPTE is present when KVM wants to install a non-leaf SPTE, then the
existing kvm_mmu_page must be for the correct gfn. Because the only way
for the gfn to be wrong is if KVM messed up and failed to zap a SPTE...
which shouldn't happen, but *actually* only happens in response to a
guest write.

That bug dates back literally forever, as even the first version of KVM
assumes that the GFN matches and walks into the "wrong" shadow page.
However, that was only an imprecision until 2032a93d66fa ("KVM: MMU:
Don't allocate gfns page for direct mmu pages") came along.

Fix it by checking for a target gfn mismatch and zapping the existing
SPTE. That way the old SP and rmap entries are gone, KVM installs
the rmap in the right location, and everyone is happy.
Published: 2026-05-28
Score: n/a
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
AI Analysis

Impact

The vulnerability arises from a use‑after‑free condition in the KVM shadow MMU logic when guest page tables are modified between VM entries. Because the kernel assumes the GFN remains constant, a stale rmap entry can be walked after the corresponding kvm_mmu_page has been freed, causing memory corruption. An attacker able to manipulate guest page mappings can trigger the flaw and potentially execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.

Affected Systems

The flaw affects the Linux kernel’s KVM subsystem for x86 hosts. Any kernel version that includes the unpatched shadow paging logic – i.e., all releases prior to the patch commit 06c19c967b845b63172601fe459667d973b7e6b7 – is vulnerable. The issue applies to all users running KVM guest instances on Linux hosts.

Risk and Exploitability

No CVSS score is provided in the current data, and EPSS is not available, but the use‑after‑free in a core hypervisor is a high‑impact flaw that can be leveraged from a guest that can perform page table changes. The lack of a KEV listing suggests no publicly known exploits yet, yet the complexity of the trigger means that an attacker could gain host‑level access if they can control guest memory mapping operations.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on May 28, 2026 at 12:19 UTC.

Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

  • Apply a kernel update that includes the KVM shadow paging patch (commit 06c19c967b845b63172601fe459667d973b7e6b7).
  • If an immediate kernel upgrade is not possible, minimize the VM’s ability to alter guest page tables, for example by disabling hotplug memory or related features, to reduce exposure.
  • Continuously monitor system logs for abnormal kernel activity such as Oops events or kernel panics that might indicate an rmap walk error.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on May 28, 2026 at 12:19 UTC.

Tracking

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Advisories

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History

Thu, 28 May 2026 12:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-416

Thu, 28 May 2026 10:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: x86: Fix shadow paging use-after-free due to unexpected GFN The shadow MMU computes GFNs for direct shadow pages using sp->gfn plus the SPTE index. This assumption breaks for shadow paging if the guest page tables are modified between VM entries (similar to commit aad885e77496, "KVM: x86/mmu: Drop/zap existing present SPTE even when creating an MMIO SPTE", 2026-03-27). The flow is as follows: - a PDE is installed for a 2MB mapping, and a page in that area is accessed. KVM creates a kvm_mmu_page consisting of 512 4KB pages; the kvm_mmu_page is marked by FNAME(fetch) as direct-mapped because the guest's mapping is a huge page (and thus contiguous). - the PDE mapping is changed from outside the guest. - the guest accesses another page in the same 2MB area. KVM installs a new leaf SPTE and rmap entry; the SPTE uses the "correct" GFN (i.e. based on the new mapping, as changed in the previous step) but that GFN is outside of the [sp->gfn, sp->gfn + 511] range; therefore the rmap entry cannot be found and removed when the kvm_mmu_page is zapped. - the memslot that covers the first 2MB mapping is deleted, and the kvm_mmu_page for the now-invalid GPA is zapped. However, rmap_remove() only looks at the [sp->gfn, sp->gfn + 511] range established in step 1, and fails to find the rmap entry that was recorded by step 3. - any operation that causes an rmap walk for the same page accessed by step 3 then walks a stale rmap and dereferences a freed kvm_mmu_page. This includes dirty logging or MMU notifier invalidations (e.g., from MADV_DONTNEED). The underlying issue is that KVM's walking of shadow PTEs assumes that if a SPTE is present when KVM wants to install a non-leaf SPTE, then the existing kvm_mmu_page must be for the correct gfn. Because the only way for the gfn to be wrong is if KVM messed up and failed to zap a SPTE... which shouldn't happen, but *actually* only happens in response to a guest write. That bug dates back literally forever, as even the first version of KVM assumes that the GFN matches and walks into the "wrong" shadow page. However, that was only an imprecision until 2032a93d66fa ("KVM: MMU: Don't allocate gfns page for direct mmu pages") came along. Fix it by checking for a target gfn mismatch and zapping the existing SPTE. That way the old SP and rmap entries are gone, KVM installs the rmap in the right location, and everyone is happy.
Title KVM: x86: Fix shadow paging use-after-free due to unexpected GFN
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
References

Subscriptions

Linux Linux Kernel
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Linux

Published:

Updated: 2026-05-28T09:35:23.035Z

Reserved: 2026-05-13T15:03:33.098Z

Link: CVE-2026-46113

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Awaiting Analysis

Published: 2026-05-28T10:16:26.760

Modified: 2026-05-28T13:44:01.663

Link: CVE-2026-46113

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-05-28T13:15:20Z

Weaknesses