CVE-2026-98863: KVM: x86: Re-pend GET_NESTED_STATE_PAGES if getting said pages fails

Severity: unknown
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-10-18 · updated 2026-10-19

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: x86: Re-pend GET_NESTED_STATE_PAGES if getting said pages fails Re-pend GET_NESTED_STATE_PAGES before exiting to userspace if getting the nested pages fails in the KVM_RUN path. If userspace re-runs the vCPU, and vmcs02 holds valid PFNs from the *previous* run of L2, then KVM could re-enter L2 with stale, unpinned PFNs mapped into e.g. the vAPIC page. Note, both SVM and VMX (as of commit 11722439fb20 ("KVM: nVMX: Ensure KVM_REQ_GET_NESTED_STATE_PAGES is cleared on VM-Exit") ensure the request is cleared on VM-Exit (including the "forced" case), i.e. there is no risk of double-mapping due to emulated VMLAUNCH/VMRESUME/VMRUN *and* the request trying to map the nested pages.

Affected products

Linux kernel: 5.4 — 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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