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CVE.org (no NVD analysis yet)· CNA Linux

CVE-2026-98719: KVM: SEV: Nullify "have run CPUs" mask pointer when freeing it

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 0/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.16% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Fixed version: Linux Linux 0fbc7fec2242de6c3dcea6de55573c428e820173, 6.18.56, 7.2.10.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to Linux Linux 0fbc7fec2242de6c3dcea6de55573c428e820173, 6.18.56, 7.2.10 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: SEV: Nullify "have run CPUs" mask pointer when freeing it Nullify have_run_cpus when freeing the mask, particularly in the error path of __sev_guest_init(), so that KVM doesn't have to subtly use sev->active to track whether or not the mask has been freed. As pointed out by Sashiko, blindly freeing the mask in sev_vm_destroy() results in a double-free if the mask is freed if __sev_guest_init() fails. Throw the logic in a helper as nullifying the pointer is frustratingly difficult and weird due to have_run_cpus being a single-entry array when CPUMASK_OFFSTACK=n. Deliberately don't use CPUMASK_VAR_NULL, as it's not directly assignable when the cpumask is on-stack, e.g. requires using a local variable and a memcpy(), which is beyond ridiculous. Furthermore, while clearing the on-stack bitmask is an unnecessary and arguably unwanted side effect, KVM absolutely relies on '0' being the "null" value given that the struct is zero-allocated. Opportunistically add an alloc() helper to pair with free(); there are just enough call sites to make doing so worthwhile.

—No exploit Fix available
Published
Oct 18, 2026
Updated
Oct 19, 2026
EPSS
0.1% · 5th percentile
CWE
—

Report tools

JSON

Action score

0

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
0 / 40 · —
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.1%

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

—

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (Linux). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Linux Linux

    • 6aef7cf800098749ff5d660222efaf6e01e98c09 and later · before b1de3ebf59507e0edacaa5cfa2225bc1869e1b63affected · git
    • 9784e5ca91b37b387f3f414af4340c54f7a63566 and later · before 0fbc7fec2242de6c3dcea6de55573c428e820173affected · git
    • 12c1f6e03f944e399bd2c88441dca5dc702b95a5 and later · before 8abbc76120a74bfba1851bd97528099d715e45c6affected · git
    • 6.18.55 and later · before 6.18.56affected · semver
    • 7.2.9 and later · before 7.2.10affected · semver

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:14linuxbefore 7.2.10-17.2.10-1

Same product

linux: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2026-74705udp: fix potential use-after-free in tunnel segmentation
    40Plan
  • CVE-2026-74612veth: fix skb length accounting after XDP frag adjustment
    40Plan
  • CVE-2026-74475vxlan: use neigh_ha_snapshot() in route_shortcircuit()
    40Plan

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-98717Oct 18, 2026 · KVM: x86/mmu: Bail from shadow walks if the root is invalid or a dummy
    0Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-98718Oct 18, 2026 · KVM: SEV: Do cache maintenance on the source VM *before* clearing SEV state
    0Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2026-98720Oct 18, 2026 · KVM: nVMX: Force MSR bitmap refresh if runtime eVMCS controls are modified
    0Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
Linux Linux0fbc7fec2242de6c3dcea6de55573c428e820173Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linux6.18.56Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linux7.2.10Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linux8abbc76120a74bfba1851bd97528099d715e45c6Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linuxb1de3ebf59507e0edacaa5cfa2225bc1869e1b63Vendor (CNA)
debian:linux7.2.10-1 · Debian:14Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

  1. Published
  2. Fix recordedsame day
  3. TodayNov 7, 2026+19 d
EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

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No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

No CVSS vector for this record, so attack conditions can't be derived.

Weakness class (CWE)

—

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

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Change log

  1. Exploit maturity— → none
  2. Fix✗ → ✓

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References

Show all references (2 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

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