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CVE-2026-89919
KVM: s390: keyop: use mmu_lock to read gmap->asce
Published 2026-09-16 (33 days ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem arch/s390. Debian urgency: unimportant.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-89919 in every release this site tracks, and what each one means in practice. Every status below is the one the Debian Security Team publishes for this CVE. source
| Release | Status | Version | What this means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 12bookworm | not affected | 6.1.190-1 | Nothing to do. bookworm never shipped the vulnerable code. |
| Debian 13trixie | not affected | 6.12.113-1 | Nothing to do. trixie never shipped the vulnerable code. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.2.6-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.2.6-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
Every other dat_* consumer in this file (kvm_s390_get_skeys, set_skeys, get_cmma_bits, set_cmma_bits, MEM_CLR_CMMA, kvm_s390_fixup_prefix, kvm_test_age_gfn, kvm_age_gfn) reads kvm->arch.gmap->asce *inside* the mmu_lock read-side. keyop is the only outlier. gmap->asce is mutated under write_lock(mmu_lock) by gmap_set_limit() and keyop might use a stale asce value for walking as KVM_S390_KEYOP and KVM_S390_VM_MEM_LIMIT_SIZE can run concurrently. This can result in memory corruption.
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/s390/kvm/kvm-s390.c
- What this is
- KERNEL VIRTUAL MACHINE for s390 (KVM/s390)MAINTAINERS section matched on arch/s390/kvm/ · kvm@vger.kernel.org · Supported
- Kernel module
- kvm
Check it on the machine
grep -w CONFIG_KVM /boot/config-$(uname -r)Reads the booted kernel's own configuration, on the machine and nowhere else. =y is built in, =m is a module, and an is not set line means the code is not there.
lsmod | grep -w kvmPrints a line if that module is loaded right now, and nothing if it is not. One that is not loaded can still be loaded later by anything that needs it.
Show whether Debian builds this, per release
Debian builds this, but not on every flavour. At least one release below builds the code on some of its kernel flavours and not on others, so the answer depends on the architecture and flavour installed.
- bookwormBnot built on arm64/rt/arm64, armhf/armmp, armhf/armmp-lpae, armhf/rt/armmp
- trixieBnot built on armel/rpi, armhf/armmp, armhf/armmp-lpae, armhf/rt/armmp
- forky, sidBnot built on armhf/armmp, armhf/armmp-lpae
- B
- built in on some, a module on others, absent on the rest
- Build switch
- CONFIG_KVM
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 kbuild Makefiles Debian linux-config packages
Signals
- Published
- 2026-09-16 (33 days ago)source
- CVSS
- 7.8 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it - Attack vector
- local (AV:L)source
- EPSS
- 0.17%, higher than 5.3% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- unimportantsource
- Subsystem
- arch/s390
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 7.0 | 7.2.5 | ae452b990e05 |
| 7.0 | 7.3 | da07a751efa4 |
Why the CNA scored it this way
Quoted from the kernel CNA's own scoring file, word for word. A highlighted metric carries the most severe value CVSS v3.1 defines for it, which is what pushes the score up. source
- AV:LAttack vector, local
- Triggered by KVM_S390_KEYOP and KVM_SET_DEVICE_ATTR(KVM_S390_VM_MEM_LIMIT_SIZE) ioctls on a VM fd from /dev/kvm. Not reachable via network packets or guest instruction emulation.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- The attacker controls both sides of the race by issuing KEYOP and MEM_LIMIT_SIZE concurrently on a VM they created (before vCPUs exist). No victim state or other uncontrolled condition is required.
- PR:LPrivileges required, low
- Regular (non-ucontrol) VM creation has no capability check; any user who can open /dev/kvm, typically via kvm-group membership, can create a VM and issue these ioctls. CAP_SYS_ADMIN is not required.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- The attacker issues the ioctls on a VM they created; no separate user action is required.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- This is host-userspace-to-host-kernel memory corruption via KVM ioctls, not a guest-to-host escape. MEM_LIMIT_SIZE is rejected once vCPUs exist, and guest storage-key paths already read gmap->asce under mmu_lock.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- kvm_s390_keyop snapshots gmap->asce without mmu_lock while gmap_set_limit() can free that CRST under write_lock, a page-table use-after-free. Walking reused tables, including ISKE/page_get_storage_key, can disclose kernel memory.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- SSKE walks the stale ASCE with DAT_WALK_ALLOC and writes via page_set_storage_key and pgste updates. The use-after-free of gmap tables enables writes into recycled kernel memory and storage-key changes on attacker-chosen physical pages.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- Walking freed CRST/PTE memory or spinning on PGSTE locks derived from reused pages can oops, panic, or hang the host kernel.