In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
KVM: PPC: Book3S HV: Prevent UAF in kvm_spapr_tce_attach_iommu_group()
Al reported a possible use-after-free (UAF) in kvm_spapr_tce_attach_iommu_group().
It looks up stt from tablefd, but then continues to use it after doing
fdput() on the returned fd. After the fdput() the tablefd is free to be
closed by another thread. The close calls kvm_spapr_tce_release() and
then release_spapr_tce_table() (via call_rcu()) which frees stt.
Although there are calls to rcu_read_lock() in
kvm_spapr_tce_attach_iommu_group() they are not sufficient to prevent
the UAF, because stt is used outside the locked regions.
With an artifcial delay after the fdput() and a userspace program which
triggers the race, KASAN detects the UAF:
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in kvm_spapr_tce_attach_iommu_group+0x298/0x720 [kvm]
Read of size 4 at addr c000200027552c30 by task kvm-vfio/2505
CPU: 54 PID: 2505 Comm: kvm-vfio Not tainted 6.10.0-rc3-next-20240612-dirty #1
Hardware name: 8335-GTH POWER9 0x4e1202 opal:skiboot-v6.5.3-35-g1851b2a06 PowerNV
Call Trace:
dump_stack_lvl+0xb4/0x108 (unreliable)
print_report+0x2b4/0x6ec
kasan_report+0x118/0x2b0
__asan_load4+0xb8/0xd0
kvm_spapr_tce_attach_iommu_group+0x298/0x720 [kvm]
kvm_vfio_set_attr+0x524/0xac0 [kvm]
kvm_device_ioctl+0x144/0x240 [kvm]
sys_ioctl+0x62c/0x1810
system_call_exception+0x190/0x440
system_call_vectored_common+0x15c/0x2ec
...
Freed by task 0:
...
kfree+0xec/0x3e0
release_spapr_tce_table+0xd4/0x11c [kvm]
rcu_core+0x568/0x16a0
handle_softirqs+0x23c/0x920
do_softirq_own_stack+0x6c/0x90
do_softirq_own_stack+0x58/0x90
__irq_exit_rcu+0x218/0x2d0
irq_exit+0x30/0x80
arch_local_irq_restore+0x128/0x230
arch_local_irq_enable+0x1c/0x30
cpuidle_enter_state+0x134/0x5cc
cpuidle_enter+0x6c/0xb0
call_cpuidle+0x7c/0x100
do_idle+0x394/0x410
cpu_startup_entry+0x60/0x70
start_secondary+0x3fc/0x410
start_secondary_prolog+0x10/0x14
Fix it by delaying the fdput() until stt is no longer in use, which
is effectively the entire function. To keep the patch minimal add a call
to fdput() at each of the existing return paths. Future work can convert
the function to goto or __cleanup style cleanup.
With the fix in place the test case no longer triggers the UAF.
What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)
The EG score (7.8): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 7.8 is its impact severity (EG Severity), not escalated.
- EG Severity
- 7.8 HIGHCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
- EG Likelihood
- 0.2% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-10-27). FIRST's exploitation probability, not an EchelonGraph model.
- Confirmed exploitation
- None on record (CISA KEV, EG-KEV Tier 1)Reported apart from the likelihood: an observed fact, not a probability.
- EG Priority
- SSVC Track at medium mission impactTrack at every mission impact level.CISA BOD 26-04: 60 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.Each input and its source, and whom BOD 26-04 binds: the SSVC and BOD 26-04 blocks below.
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at every mission impact level.
A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines.
Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table
BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)60 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.
The score's inputs: In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it