CVE-2026-98719KVM: SEV: Nullify "have run CPUs" mask pointer when freeing it
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No exploitation reported and no EPSS estimate yet.
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In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: SEV: Nullify "have run CPUs" mask pointer when freeing it Nullify have_run_cpus when freeing the mask, particularly in the error path of __sev_guest_init(), so that KVM doesn't have to subtly use sev->active to track whether or not the mask has been freed. As pointed out by Sashiko, blindly freeing the mask in sev_vm_destroy() results in a double-free if the mask is freed if __sev_guest_init() fails. Throw the logic in a helper as nullifying the pointer is frustratingly difficult and weird due to have_run_cpus being a single-entry array when CPUMASK_OFFSTACK=n. Deliberately don't use CPUMASK_VAR_NULL, as it's not directly assignable when the cpumask is on-stack, e.g. requires using a local variable and a memcpy(), which is beyond ridiculous. Furthermore, while clearing the on-stack bitmask is an unnecessary and arguably unwanted side effect, KVM absolutely relies on '0' being the "null" value given that the struct is zero-allocated. Opportunistically add an alloc() helper to pair with free(); there are just enough call sites to make doing so worthwhile.
- CVSS
- Not yet scored
- Weakness (CWE)
- Not given
- Known exploited
- Not in CISA's KEV catalog
- EPSS (exploitation in the next 30 days)
- Not loaded for this CVE
- Assigned by
- Linux
- NVD analysis
- Received
- Record last updated
- Oct 19, 2026
- First seen by InfoSec Signals
- Oct 18, 2026
The CVE record on cve.org NVD's entry
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