CVE-2026-68428

What the bug is

mmu_destroy_caches() destroys pte_list_desc_cache and mmu_page_header_cache, but leaves both pointers unchanged. The pointers live in kvm.ko, and therefore survive when a vendor module is unloaded while kvm.ko remains loaded. If creation of pte_list_desc_cache fails during a subsequent vendor module load, its assignment sets pte_list_desc_cache to NULL and the error path calls mmu_destroy_caches(). mmu_page_header_cache still points to the cache destroyed during the preceding vendor module unload. Passing that stale pointer to kmem_cache_destroy() causes a slab use-after-free. Reproduce the issue on a v7.1.3 kernel with CONFIG_KASAN=y, CONFIG_KASAN_GENERIC=y, CONFIG_KVM=m, and CONFIG_KVM_INTEL=m. A one-shot test hook forces pte_list_desc_cache to NULL on the second invocation of kvm_mmu_vendor_module_init(): 1. Load kvm.ko and kvm-intel.ko, creating both caches. 2. Unload only kvm_intel, leaving kvm.ko loaded. 3. Reload kvm_intel and force initialization through the -ENOMEM path. KASAN reports: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in kvm_mmu_vendor_module_init+0x5b/0x170 [kvm] ... kmem_cache_destroy+0x21/0x1d0 kvm_mmu_vendor_module_init+0x5b/0x170 [kvm] ... Allocated by task 16817: __kmem_cache_create_args+0x12c/0x3b0 __kmem_cache_create.constprop.0+0xb6/0xf0 [kvm] kvm_mmu_vendor_module_init+0x13b/0x170 [kvm] ... Freed by task 16820: kmem_cache_destroy+0x117/0x1d0 kvm_mmu_vendor_module_exit+0x21/0x30 [kvm] Clear both pointers immediately after destroying their caches so that the stored state reflects the caches' lifetime and repeated cleanup is safe. With the fix applied, the same injected vendor module reload fails with -ENOMEM as expected and produces no KASAN report.

Where it lives

The fix touches these files. If the subsystem is one you do not use, the practical exposure is lower, though the package is still the vulnerable one.

arch/x86/kvm/mmu/mmu.c

What this is

KERNEL VIRTUAL MACHINE FOR X86 (KVM/x86)MAINTAINERS section matched on arch/x86/kvm/*/ · kvm@vger.kernel.org · Supported

Show whether Debian builds this, per release

Not established. This site could not find the build rule for the affected file in the kernel trees Debian ships, so it has no answer about whether Debian compiles this code. Read that as unknown, never as absent.

• bookworm, trixie, forky, sid, bookworm · linux-6.12?

?

not established - no Makefile entry for the affected file

Where a release above reads "not established", no build rule for the affected file was found in that release's kernel tree. That is a gap in this lookup, not a finding that the code is absent.

From the configuration Debian publishes for every kernel flavour it builds. It covers only the architectures Debian ships a linux-config package for, and nothing about a kernel you built yourself. Debian's own status above stays authoritative about the source package.MAINTAINERS

Signals

Published

2026-08-10 (2 months ago)source

CVSS

no vector published, unrated

Attack vector

not published

EPSS

0.17%, higher than 5.3% of all CVEssource

CISA KEV

not listedthe KEV catalogue

Debian urgency

not yet assignedsource

Subsystem

arch/x86

Upstream fixes

The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source

Introduced	Fixed in	Commit
2.6.25	5.10.265	034b7fa1f584
2.6.25	5.15.216	42272b0f239f
2.6.25	6.1.183	940950d5cd86
2.6.25	6.6.148	6f4be7388030
2.6.25	6.12.101	32b9f89ed9e6
2.6.25	6.18.42	ec9daa8fd1b6
2.6.25	7.1.6	43cfb20d62ff
2.6.25	7.2	52f2f7c30126

Debian advisories