CVE-2026-98283: KVM: PPC: Book3S HV: fix use-after-free in kvmhv_emulate_tlbie_all_lpid()

Severity: high (CVSS 8.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.1% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-10-06 · updated 2026-10-19

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: PPC: Book3S HV: fix use-after-free in kvmhv_emulate_tlbie_all_lpid() kvmhv_emulate_tlbie_all_lpid() iterates the nested-guest IDR and drops mmu_lock before calling kvmhv_emulate_tlbie_lpid(), but does not hold a reference on the kvm_nested_guest pointer obtained from the IDR. A concurrent vCPU issuing a single-LPID tlbie (is=2, ric=2) can race through kvmhv_flush_nested() -> kvmhv_remove_nested() -> idr_remove / --refcnt -> kvmhv_release_nested() -> kfree(gp) in that window, leaving the iterating vCPU with a dangling pointer. The subsequent mutex_lock(&gp->tlb_lock) and accesses to gp->shadow_pgtable, gp->shadow_lpid and gp->l1_host all touch freed memory. The free path is fully L1-controlled. Fix this by incrementing gp->refcnt inside the loop before dropping mmu_lock, mirroring what kvmhv_get_nested() does, and releasing the reference with kvmhv_put_nested() after the per-guest work completes. This is the same get/put discipline already used at every other call site that drops mmu_lock while holding a nested-guest pointer.

Affected products

Linux kernel: 4.20 — fixed in 7.3

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 7.3. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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