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

CVE-2026-99017: riscv: errata: select RISCV_ALTERNATIVE_EARLY for THEAD GHOSTWRITE

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 28/100)

  • 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).
  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. Special conditions such as timing or configuration are required.
  • Fixed version: Linux Linux 298510bbc7c3017c0faf481c6ea66f1065b657b4, 7fee577a2fa78b9a76da015beec1ccf978746ebb, fa465a7819ecbe5801b78c088d3cadaf2664b8ca.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to Linux Linux 298510bbc7c3017c0faf481c6ea66f1065b657b4, 7fee577a2fa78b9a76da015beec1ccf978746ebb, fa465a7819ecbe5801b78c088d3cadaf2664b8ca 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: riscv: errata: select RISCV_ALTERNATIVE_EARLY for THEAD GHOSTWRITE errata_probe_ghostwrite() only marks the CPU as vulnerable when it is called at the RISCV_ALTERNATIVES_EARLY_BOOT stage, and the mitigation in ghostwrite_enable_mitigation() only takes effect if the vulnerable state was recorded before the boot alternatives are patched. The early boot stage is only executed when CONFIG_RISCV_ALTERNATIVE_EARLY is enabled, which currently is only selected by ERRATA_THEAD_MAE. In a kernel built with ERRATA_THEAD_GHOSTWRITE=y but ERRATA_THEAD_MAE=n, the early alternatives never run, so ghostwrite_state is never set to VULNERABLE: ghostwrite_enable_mitigation() returns false, xtheadvector remains enabled, and sysfs reports "Not affected" on a vulnerable T-Head C9xx CPU. Select RISCV_ALTERNATIVE_EARLY from ERRATA_THEAD_GHOSTWRITE so that the vulnerability is detected in the early boot stage and the default mitigation is applied.

HighCVSS 7.0 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Oct 23, 2026
Updated
Oct 24, 2026
EPSS
0.1% · 5th percentile
CWE
—

Report tools

JSON

Action score

28

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
28 / 40 · 7.0 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.1%

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
—
CNA · Linux
7.0
NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

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  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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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

    • 6.14affected
    • 4bf97069239bcfca9840936313c7ac35a6e04488 and later · before fa465a7819ecbe5801b78c088d3cadaf2664b8caaffected · git
    • 4bf97069239bcfca9840936313c7ac35a6e04488 and later · before 7fee577a2fa78b9a76da015beec1ccf978746ebbaffected · git
    • 4bf97069239bcfca9840936313c7ac35a6e04488 and later · before 298510bbc7c3017c0faf481c6ea66f1065b657b4affected · git
    • before 6.14not affected · semver
    • 6.18.57 and later · up to and including 6.18.*not affected · semver
    • 7.2.11 and later · up to and including 7.2.*not affected · semver
    • 7.3 and laternot affected · original_commit_for_fix

Package-level exposure

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

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:14linuxbefore 7.2.11-17.2.11-1

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-2026-99015Oct 23, 2026 · Bluetooth: hci_sock: Serialize dead-device detachment
    0Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-99016Oct 23, 2026 · riscv: futex: untag the user pointer before the atomic access
    31Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2026-99018Oct 23, 2026 · riscv: entry: gate shadow call stack reload on sstatus.SPP, not tp
    31Monitor

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 Linux298510bbc7c3017c0faf481c6ea66f1065b657b4Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linux7fee577a2fa78b9a76da015beec1ccf978746ebbVendor (CNA)
Linux Linuxfa465a7819ecbe5801b78c088d3cadaf2664b8caVendor (CNA)
debian:linux7.2.11-1 · 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. TodayOct 27, 2026+3 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

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

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

Attack conditions

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • No user action is required.
  • Special conditions such as timing or configuration are required.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
High
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

—

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-secondary

Attack context

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

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

Change log

  1. CVSS— → 7
  2. Severity— → high
  3. Exploit maturity— → none
  4. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Show all references (2 more)

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

All records