CVE-2026-23198

What it is

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: Don't clobber irqfd routing type when deassigning irqfd When deassigning a KVM_IRQFD, don't clobber the irqfd's copy of the IRQ's routing entry as doing so breaks kvm_arch_irq_bypass_del_producer() on x86 and arm64, which explicitly look for KVM_IRQ_ROUTING_MSI. Instead, to handle a concurrent routing update, verify that the irqfd is still active before consuming the routing information. As evidenced by the x86 and arm64 bugs, and another bug in kvm_arch_update_irqfd_routing() (see below), clobbering the entry type without notifying arch code is surprising and error prone. As a bonus, checking that the irqfd is active provides a convenient location for documenting _why_ KVM must not consume the routing entry for an irqfd that is in the process of being deassigned: once the irqfd is deleted from the list (which happens *before* the eventfd is detached), it will no longer receive updates via kvm_irq_routing_update(), and so KVM could deliver an event using stale routing information (relative to KVM_SET_GSI_ROUTING returning to userspace). As an even better bonus, explicitly checking for the irqfd being active fixes a similar bug to the one the clobbering is trying to prevent: if an irqfd is deactivated, and then its routing is changed, kvm_irq_routing_update() won't invoke kvm_arch_update_irqfd_routing() (because the irqfd isn't in the list). And so if the irqfd is in bypass mode, IRQs will continue to be posted using the old routing information. As for kvm_arch_irq_bypass_del_producer(), clobbering the routing type results in KVM incorrectly keeping the IRQ in bypass mode, which is especially problematic on AMD as KVM tracks IRQs that are being posted to a vCPU in a list whose lifetime is tied to the irqfd. Without the help of KASAN to detect use-after-free, the most common sympton on AMD is a NULL pointer deref in amd_iommu_update_ga() due to the memory for irqfd structure being re-allocated and zeroed, resulting in irqfd->irq_bypass_data being NULL when read by avic_update_iommu_vcpu_affinity(): BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000018 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 40cf2b9067 P4D 40cf2b9067 PUD 408362a067 PMD 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP CPU: 6 UID: 0 PID: 40383 Comm: vfio_irq_test Tainted: G U W O 6.19.0-smp--5dddc257e6b2-irqfd #31 NONE Tainted: [U]=USER, [W]=WARN, [O]=OOT_MODULE Hardware name: Google, Inc. Arcadia_IT_80/Arcadia_IT_80, BIOS 34.78.2-0 09/05/2025 RIP: 0010:amd_iommu_update_ga+0x19/0xe0 Call Trace: <TASK> avic_update_iommu_vcpu_affinity+0x3d/0x90 [kvm_amd] __avic_vcpu_load+0xf4/0x130 [kvm_amd] kvm_arch_vcpu_load+0x89/0x210 [kvm] vcpu_load+0x30/0x40 [kvm] kvm_arch_vcpu_ioctl_run+0x45/0x620 [kvm] kvm_vcpu_ioctl+0x571/0x6a0 [kvm] __se_sys_ioctl+0x6d/0xb0 do_syscall_64+0x6f/0x9d0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 RIP: 0033:0x46893b </TASK> ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- If AVIC is inhibited when the irfd is deassigned, the bug will manifest as list corruption, e.g. on the next irqfd assignment. list_add corruption. next->prev should be prev (ffff8d474d5cd588), but was 0000000000000000. (next=ffff8d8658f86530). ------------[ cut here ]------------ kernel BUG at lib/list_debug.c:31! Oops: invalid opcode: 0000 [#1] SMP CPU: 128 UID: 0 PID: 80818 Comm: vfio_irq_test Tainted: G U W O 6.19.0-smp--f19dc4d680ba-irqfd #28 NONE Tainted: [U]=USER, [W]=WARN, [O]=OOT_MODULE Hardware name: Google, Inc. Arcadia_IT_80/Arcadia_IT_80, BIOS 34.78.2-0 09/05/2025 RIP: 0010:__list_add_valid_or_report+0x97/0xc0 Call Trace: <TASK> avic_pi_update_irte+0x28e/0x2b0 [kvm_amd] kvm_pi_update_irte+0xbf/0x190 [kvm] kvm_arch_irq_bypass_add_producer+0x72/0x90 [kvm] irq_bypass_register_consumer+0xcd/0x170 [irqbypa ---truncated---

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited locally on the machine with a low-privilege account. High risk of data exposure, data tampering, service disruption.

Exploit odds

0.1% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

1. 2026-02-14 17:15 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-10-19 19:17 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

• Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
• Exploit odds: 0.1% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
• Severity: 7.8 HIGH (CVSS).
• Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published

2026-02-14 17:15 UTC

Last modified

2026-10-19 19:17 UTC

Exploit probability

0.1% · EPSS, next 30 days

Weakness

CWE-476 · NULL pointer dereference

Record status

Modified

Affected

• Linux Kernel < 5.10.250
• Linux Kernel < 5.15.200
• Linux Kernel < 6.1.163
• Linux Kernel < 6.6.124
• Linux Kernel < 6.12.70
• Linux Kernel < 6.18.10
• Linux Kernel 6.19

Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 7.8

Attack vector

Local

Complexity

Low

Privileges needed

Low

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Is it in your code?

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