8.8
/ 10
HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
KVM: arm64: Fix ID register initialization for non-protected pKVM guests
In protected mode, the hypervisor maintains a separate instance of
the `kvm` structure for each VM. For non-protected VMs, this structure is
initialized from the host's `kvm` state.
Currently, `pkvm_init_features_from_host()` copies the
`KVM_ARCH_FLAG_ID_REGS_INITIALIZED` flag from the host without the
underlying `id_regs` data being initialized. This results in the
hypervisor seeing the flag as set while the ID registers remain zeroed.
Consequently, `kvm_has_feat()` checks at EL2 fail (return 0) for
non-protected VMs. This breaks logic that relies on feature detection,
such as `ctxt_has_tcrx()` for TCR2_EL1 support. As a result, certain
system registers (e.g., TCR2_EL1, PIR_EL1, POR_EL1) are not
saved/restored during the world switch, which could lead to state
corruption.
Fix this by explicitly copying the ID registers from the host `kvm` to
the hypervisor `kvm` for non-protected VMs during initialization, since
we trust the host with its non-protected guests' features. Also ensure
`KVM_ARCH_FLAG_ID_REGS_INITIALIZED` is cleared initially in
`pkvm_init_features_from_host` so that `vm_copy_id_regs` can properly
initialize them and set the flag once done.
KVM: arm64: Fix ID register initialization for non-protected pKVM guests
In protected mode, the hypervisor maintains a separate instance of
the `kvm` structure for each VM. For non-protected VMs, this structure is
initialized from the host's `kvm` state.
Currently, `pkvm_init_features_from_host()` copies the
`KVM_ARCH_FLAG_ID_REGS_INITIALIZED` flag from the host without the
underlying `id_regs` data being initialized. This results in the
hypervisor seeing the flag as set while the ID registers remain zeroed.
Consequently, `kvm_has_feat()` checks at EL2 fail (return 0) for
non-protected VMs. This breaks logic that relies on feature detection,
such as `ctxt_has_tcrx()` for TCR2_EL1 support. As a result, certain
system registers (e.g., TCR2_EL1, PIR_EL1, POR_EL1) are not
saved/restored during the world switch, which could lead to state
corruption.
Fix this by explicitly copying the ID registers from the host `kvm` to
the hypervisor `kvm` for non-protected VMs during initialization, since
we trust the host with its non-protected guests' features. Also ensure
`KVM_ARCH_FLAG_ID_REGS_INITIALIZED` is cleared initially in
`pkvm_init_features_from_host` so that `vm_copy_id_regs` can properly
initialize them and set the flag once done.
Basic Information
ID
CVE-2026-23425
Source
Linux
Published
Apr 3, 2026 at 13:24
Modified
Apr 27, 2026 at 14:02
Affected Product
Vendor
Linux
Product
Linux
Version
41d6028e28bd474298ff10409c292ec46cf43a90
Affected Versions
Linux Linux 41d6028e28bd474298ff10409c292ec46cf43a90
Linux Linux 41d6028e28bd474298ff10409c292ec46cf43a90
Linux Linux 41d6028e28bd474298ff10409c292ec46cf43a90
Linux Linux 6.14
Linux Linux 41d6028e28bd474298ff10409c292ec46cf43a90
Linux Linux 41d6028e28bd474298ff10409c292ec46cf43a90
Linux Linux 6.14