CVE-2026-72279
KVM: arm64: nv: Respect read-only PFN when mapping L1 VNCR
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: arm64: nv: Respect read-only PFN when mapping L1 VNCR KVM currently maps the L1 VNCR into the host stage-1 by relying entirely on the permissions of the guest stage-1. At the same time, it is entirely possible that the backing PFN is read-only (e.g. RO memslot), meaning that the L1 VNCR should use at most a read-only mapping. Cache the writability of the PFN in the VNCR TLB and use it to constrain the resulting fixmap permissions. Promote VNCR permission faults to an SEA in the case where the guest attempts to write to a read-only endpoint. Conveniently, this also plugs a page leak found by Sashiko [*] resulting from the early return for a read-only PFN.
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
- Update the Linux kernel to the latest stable version.
- Verify PFN writability before mapping L1 VNCR.
- Constrain fixmap permissions based on PFN writability.
- Promote write faults to SEA for read-only endpoints.
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-2026-72279.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-72279 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-2026-72279
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-2026-72279 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-72279 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:N/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': '5c50db5bcbb9073cb2fd97be51b962de92f429e9', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '2a359e072596fcb2e9e85017a865e3618a2fe5b5', 'lessThan': 'd35defbdfcb15296ebe28968ad7452c1a8c11cea', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '2a359e072596fcb2e9e85017a865e3618a2fe5b5', 'lessThan': '2684e02bac41c5220f6c1ab2bdcc957b71812977', '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': '5c50db5bcbb9073cb2fd97be51b962de92f429e9', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '2a359e072596fcb2e9e85017a865e3618a2fe5b5', 'lessThan': 'd35defbdfcb15296ebe28968ad7452c1a8c11cea', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '2a359e072596fcb2e9e85017a865e3618a2fe5b5', 'lessThan': '2684e02bac41c5220f6c1ab2bdcc957b71812977', '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': '5c50db5bcbb9073cb2fd97be51b962de92f429e9', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '2a359e072596fcb2e9e85017a865e3618a2fe5b5', 'lessThan': 'd35defbdfcb15296ebe28968ad7452c1a8c11cea', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '2a359e072596fcb2e9e85017a865e3618a2fe5b5', 'lessThan': '2684e02bac41c5220f6c1ab2bdcc957b71812977', '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: Respect read-only PFN when mapping L1 VNCR KVM currently maps the L1 VNCR into the host stage-1 by relying entirely on the permissions of the guest stage-1. At the same time, it is entirely possible that the backing PFN is read-only (e.g. RO memslot), meaning that the L1 VNCR should use at most a read-only mapping. Cache the writability of the PFN in the VNCR TLB and use it to constrain the resulting fixmap permissions. Promote VNCR permission faults to an SEA in the case where the guest attempts to write to a read-only endpoint. Conveniently, this also plugs a page leak found by Sashiko [*] resulting from the early return for a read-only PFN. Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2684e02bac41c5220f6c1ab2bdcc957b71812977 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5c50db5bcbb9073cb2fd97be51b962de92f429e9 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d35defbdfcb15296ebe28968ad7452c1a8c11cea