CVE-2026-45987
KVM: nSVM: Sync interrupt shadow to cached vmcb12 after VMRUN of L2
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: nSVM: Sync interrupt shadow to cached vmcb12 after VMRUN of L2 After VMRUN in guest mode, nested_sync_control_from_vmcb02() syncs fields written by the CPU from vmcb02 to the cached vmcb12. This is because the cached vmcb12 is used as the authoritative copy of some of the controls, and is the payload when saving/restoring nested state. int_state is also written by the CPU, specifically bit 0 (i.e. SVM_INTERRUPT_SHADOW_MASK) for nested VMs, but it is not sync'd to cached vmcb12. This does not cause a problem if KVM_SET_NESTED_STATE preceeds KVM_SET_VCPU_EVENTS in the restore path, as an interrupt shadow would be correctly restored to vmcb02 (KVM_SET_VCPU_EVENTS overwrites what KVM_SET_NESTED_STATE restored in int_state). However, if KVM_SET_VCPU_EVENTS preceeds KVM_SET_NESTED_STATE, an interrupt shadow would be restored into vmcb01 instead of vmcb02. This would mostly be benign for L1 (delays an interrupt), but not for L2. For L2, the vCPU could hang (e.g. if a wakeup interrupt is delivered before a HLT that should have been in an interrupt shadow). Sync int_state to the cached vmcb12 in nested_sync_control_from_vmcb02() to avoid this problem. With that, KVM_SET_NESTED_STATE restores the correct interrupt shadow state, and if KVM_SET_VCPU_EVENTS follows it would overwrite it with the same value.
INFO
Published Date :
May 27, 2026, 2:17 p.m.
Last Modified :
June 1, 2026, 5:17 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Solution
- Apply the Linux kernel update.
- Ensure KVM_SET_NESTED_STATE precedes KVM_SET_VCPU_EVENTS.
- Verify interrupt shadow synchronization.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
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CVE-2026-45987.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-45987 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
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stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-45987
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
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Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
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CVE Modified by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Jun. 01, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0c1f74d8b74d8a31751fb6ea5417e48e02c93b58 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4b44aa1a134e499c4517597118378b308602a16c Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e39a77a9b1e17d2d831c304eafac4c41a784a0be -
New CVE Received by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
May. 27, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: nSVM: Sync interrupt shadow to cached vmcb12 after VMRUN of L2 After VMRUN in guest mode, nested_sync_control_from_vmcb02() syncs fields written by the CPU from vmcb02 to the cached vmcb12. This is because the cached vmcb12 is used as the authoritative copy of some of the controls, and is the payload when saving/restoring nested state. int_state is also written by the CPU, specifically bit 0 (i.e. SVM_INTERRUPT_SHADOW_MASK) for nested VMs, but it is not sync'd to cached vmcb12. This does not cause a problem if KVM_SET_NESTED_STATE preceeds KVM_SET_VCPU_EVENTS in the restore path, as an interrupt shadow would be correctly restored to vmcb02 (KVM_SET_VCPU_EVENTS overwrites what KVM_SET_NESTED_STATE restored in int_state). However, if KVM_SET_VCPU_EVENTS preceeds KVM_SET_NESTED_STATE, an interrupt shadow would be restored into vmcb01 instead of vmcb02. This would mostly be benign for L1 (delays an interrupt), but not for L2. For L2, the vCPU could hang (e.g. if a wakeup interrupt is delivered before a HLT that should have been in an interrupt shadow). Sync int_state to the cached vmcb12 in nested_sync_control_from_vmcb02() to avoid this problem. With that, KVM_SET_NESTED_STATE restores the correct interrupt shadow state, and if KVM_SET_VCPU_EVENTS follows it would overwrite it with the same value. Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/03bee264f8ebfd39e0254c98e112d033a7aa9055 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1709418535a8df95532999d61b03d59975280258 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2f950eeb27af6885416232761700b8820cae0a61 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/497f6af9679fc9c6ce2f438e11ed5d51b1aa8297 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e0377e52f3c10ee572732d11b04625b7f517a862