Vulnerability · Published Oct 18, 2026 · Assigned by Linux
CVE-2026-98719KVM: SEV: Nullify "have run CPUs" mask pointer when freeing it
Unrated
In plain English
A security flaw in Linux from Linux. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.2% (higher than 6% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
Official description
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.
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:14 | linux | 7.2.10-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:26.04:LTS | linux | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-allwinner-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:26.04:LTS | linux-aws | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-aws-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-aws-6.14 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-aws-6.17 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-aws-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-aws-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:26.04:LTS | linux-azure | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-azure-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-azure-6.14 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-azure-6.17 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-fde-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-azure-fde-6.14 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-azure-fde-6.17 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-fde-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-azure-nvidia-6.14 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:26.04:LTS | linux-gcp | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gcp-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-gcp-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-gcp-6.14 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-gcp-6.17 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gcp-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gcp-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-hwe-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-hwe-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-hwe-6.14 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-hwe-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-hwe-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-hwe-7.0 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:26.04:LTS | linux-ibm | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-intel-iot-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-6.17 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-5.17 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.0 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.1 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.14 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.8 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:26.04:LTS | linux-oem-7.0 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:26.04:LTS | linux-oracle | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-oracle-6.14 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-oracle-6.17 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oracle-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-raspi-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-riscv | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-riscv | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:26.04:LTS | linux-riscv | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-riscv-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-riscv-6.14 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-riscv-6.17 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-riscv-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-riscv-7.0 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-starfive-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-starfive-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-starfive-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98719 |
Affected products (as reported)
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6aef7cf800098749ff5d660222efaf6e01e98c09 – before b1de3ebf59507e0edacaa5cfa2225bc1869e1b639784e5ca91b37b387f3f414af4340c54f7a63566 – before 0fbc7fec2242de6c3dcea6de55573c428e82017312c1f6e03f944e399bd2c88441dca5dc702b95a5 – before 8abbc76120a74bfba1851bd97528099d715e45c6 |
| Linux | Linux | 6.18.55 – before 6.18.567.2.9 – before 7.2.10 |