CVE-2026-43214
Awaiting Analysis Awaiting Analysis - Queue
KVM: SRCU Protection Missing in PDPTR Register Read

Publication date: 2026-05-06

Last updated on: 2026-05-06

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: x86: Add SRCU protection for reading PDPTRs in __get_sregs2() Add SRCU read-side protection when reading PDPTR registers in __get_sregs2(). Reading PDPTRs may trigger access to guest memory: kvm_pdptr_read() -> svm_cache_reg() -> load_pdptrs() -> kvm_vcpu_read_guest_page() -> kvm_vcpu_gfn_to_memslot() kvm_vcpu_gfn_to_memslot() dereferences memslots via __kvm_memslots(), which uses srcu_dereference_check() and requires either kvm->srcu or kvm->slots_lock to be held. Currently only vcpu->mutex is held, triggering lockdep warning: ============================= WARNING: suspicious RCU usage in kvm_vcpu_gfn_to_memslot 6.12.59+ #3 Not tainted include/linux/kvm_host.h:1062 suspicious rcu_dereference_check() usage! other info that might help us debug this: rcu_scheduler_active = 2, debug_locks = 1 1 lock held by syz.5.1717/15100: #0: ff1100002f4b00b0 (&vcpu->mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: kvm_vcpu_ioctl+0x1d5/0x1590 Call Trace: <TASK> __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:94 [inline] dump_stack_lvl+0xf0/0x120 lib/dump_stack.c:120 lockdep_rcu_suspicious+0x1e3/0x270 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:6824 __kvm_memslots include/linux/kvm_host.h:1062 [inline] __kvm_memslots include/linux/kvm_host.h:1059 [inline] kvm_vcpu_memslots include/linux/kvm_host.h:1076 [inline] kvm_vcpu_gfn_to_memslot+0x518/0x5e0 virt/kvm/kvm_main.c:2617 kvm_vcpu_read_guest_page+0x27/0x50 virt/kvm/kvm_main.c:3302 load_pdptrs+0xff/0x4b0 arch/x86/kvm/x86.c:1065 svm_cache_reg+0x1c9/0x230 arch/x86/kvm/svm/svm.c:1688 kvm_pdptr_read arch/x86/kvm/kvm_cache_regs.h:141 [inline] __get_sregs2 arch/x86/kvm/x86.c:11784 [inline] kvm_arch_vcpu_ioctl+0x3e20/0x4aa0 arch/x86/kvm/x86.c:6279 kvm_vcpu_ioctl+0x856/0x1590 virt/kvm/kvm_main.c:4663 vfs_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:51 [inline] __do_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:907 [inline] __se_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:893 [inline] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x18b/0x210 fs/ioctl.c:893 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:52 [inline] do_syscall_64+0xbd/0x1d0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:83 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f Found by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with Syzkaller.
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
Probability:
Percentile:
Meta Information
Published
2026-05-06
Last Modified
2026-05-06
Generated
2026-05-07
AI Q&A
2026-05-06
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-43214
EUVD
EUVD-2026-27774
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel 6.12.59+
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
CWE Icon
KEV
KEV Icon
CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?

This vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel's KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) subsystem for x86 architectures. It involves the lack of SRCU (Sleepable Read-Copy Update) read-side protection when reading PDPTR (Page Directory Pointer Table Register) registers in the __get_sregs2() function.

Reading PDPTRs can trigger access to guest memory through a chain of function calls that eventually dereference memory slots without holding the required SRCU or slots_lock protections. Instead, only a mutex is held, which leads to a lock dependency warning and suspicious RCU usage.

The issue was identified by the Linux Verification Center using the Syzkaller tool and was resolved by adding SRCU read-side protection to ensure safe access to these memory structures.


How can this vulnerability impact me? :

This vulnerability could potentially lead to unsafe memory access within the KVM subsystem when reading PDPTR registers, which might cause kernel instability or unexpected behavior due to improper synchronization.

While the description does not explicitly mention exploitation or direct security impact such as privilege escalation or information disclosure, the improper locking and memory access could lead to system crashes or data corruption in virtualized environments.


Ask Our AI Assistant
Need more information? Ask your question to get an AI reply (Powered by our expertise)
0/70
EPSS Chart