CVE-2026-72278
KVM: arm64: nv: Re-translate VNCR before injecting abort
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: arm64: nv: Re-translate VNCR before injecting abort KVM faults in the VNCR page with FOLL_WRITE whenever the guest aborts for a write, similar to how a regular stage-2 mapping is handled. It is entirely possible that the guest reads from the VNCR before writing to it, in which case the PFN could only be read-only. Invalidate the VNCR TLB and re-fetch the translation upon taking a VNCR abort, allowing the host mapping to be faulted in for write the second time around. Interestingly enough, this also satisfies the ordering requirements of FEAT_ETS2/3 between descriptor updates and MMU faults.
INFO
Published Date :
Aug. 15, 2026, 6:21 a.m.
Last Modified :
Aug. 17, 2026, 6:18 a.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | CRITICAL | 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 |
Solution
- Invalidate the VNCR TLB.
- Re-fetch the translation upon VNCR abort.
- Ensure host mapping is faulted in for write.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-72278.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-72278 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-72278
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).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-72278 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-72278 vulnerability over time.
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.
-
CVE Modified by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Aug. 17, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added CVSS V3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H Changed Affected [{'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '2a359e072596fcb2e9e85017a865e3618a2fe5b5', 'lessThan': 'ea7a76d7d614b5f82b4d0785f9af3550e860a71a', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '2a359e072596fcb2e9e85017a865e3618a2fe5b5', 'lessThan': '0a5dd8cf4d58ea28da132c2097cd1c525302ac48', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '2a359e072596fcb2e9e85017a865e3618a2fe5b5', 'lessThan': 'bb645aa0a4caeaf7f9cd32e9a948594d434c1a8f', 'versionType': 'git'}], 'programFiles': ['arch/arm64/kvm/nested.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '6.16'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '0', 'lessThan': '6.16', 'versionType': 'semver'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.18.40', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.18.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.1.5', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '7.1.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.2-rc4', 'versionType': 'original_commit_for_fix', 'lessThanOrEqual': '*'}], 'programFiles': ['arch/arm64/kvm/nested.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}] [{'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '2a359e072596fcb2e9e85017a865e3618a2fe5b5', 'lessThan': 'ea7a76d7d614b5f82b4d0785f9af3550e860a71a', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '2a359e072596fcb2e9e85017a865e3618a2fe5b5', 'lessThan': '0a5dd8cf4d58ea28da132c2097cd1c525302ac48', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '2a359e072596fcb2e9e85017a865e3618a2fe5b5', 'lessThan': 'bb645aa0a4caeaf7f9cd32e9a948594d434c1a8f', 'versionType': 'git'}], 'programFiles': ['arch/arm64/kvm/nested.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '6.16'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '0', 'lessThan': '6.16', 'versionType': 'semver'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.18.40', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.18.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.1.5', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '7.1.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.2', 'versionType': 'original_commit_for_fix', 'lessThanOrEqual': '*'}], 'programFiles': ['arch/arm64/kvm/nested.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}] -
New CVE Received by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Aug. 15, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '2a359e072596fcb2e9e85017a865e3618a2fe5b5', 'lessThan': 'ea7a76d7d614b5f82b4d0785f9af3550e860a71a', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '2a359e072596fcb2e9e85017a865e3618a2fe5b5', 'lessThan': '0a5dd8cf4d58ea28da132c2097cd1c525302ac48', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '2a359e072596fcb2e9e85017a865e3618a2fe5b5', 'lessThan': 'bb645aa0a4caeaf7f9cd32e9a948594d434c1a8f', 'versionType': 'git'}], 'programFiles': ['arch/arm64/kvm/nested.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '6.16'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '0', 'lessThan': '6.16', 'versionType': 'semver'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.18.40', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.18.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.1.5', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '7.1.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.2-rc4', 'versionType': 'original_commit_for_fix', 'lessThanOrEqual': '*'}], 'programFiles': ['arch/arm64/kvm/nested.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}] Added Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: arm64: nv: Re-translate VNCR before injecting abort KVM faults in the VNCR page with FOLL_WRITE whenever the guest aborts for a write, similar to how a regular stage-2 mapping is handled. It is entirely possible that the guest reads from the VNCR before writing to it, in which case the PFN could only be read-only. Invalidate the VNCR TLB and re-fetch the translation upon taking a VNCR abort, allowing the host mapping to be faulted in for write the second time around. Interestingly enough, this also satisfies the ordering requirements of FEAT_ETS2/3 between descriptor updates and MMU faults. Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0a5dd8cf4d58ea28da132c2097cd1c525302ac48 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bb645aa0a4caeaf7f9cd32e9a948594d434c1a8f Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ea7a76d7d614b5f82b4d0785f9af3550e860a71a