CVE-2026-52969
HIGH 7In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: Reject wrapped offset in kvm_reset_dirty_gfn() kvm_reset_dirty_gfn() guards the gfn range with if (!memslot || (offset + __fls(mask)) >= memslot->npages) return; but offset is u64 and the addition is unchecked. The check can be silently bypassed by a u64 wrap. The dirty ring backing those entries is MAP_SHARED at KVM_DIRTY_LOG_PAGE_OFFSET of the vcpu fd, so the VMM can rewrite the slot and offset fields of any entry between when the kernel pushes them and when KVM_RESET_DIRTY_RINGS consumes them. On reset, kvm_dirty_ring_reset() re-reads the values via READ_ONCE() and feeds them straight back into this check; only the flags handshake is treated as the handover, the slot/offset payload is taken on trust. Crafting two entries entry[i].offset = 0xffffffffffffffc1 entry[i+1].offset = 0 makes the coalescing loop in kvm_dirty_ring_reset() compute delta = (s64)(0 - 0xffffffffffffffc1) = 63 which falls in [0, BITS_PER_LONG), so it folds entry[i+1] into the existing mask by setting bit 63. The trailing kvm_reset_dirty_gfn() call then sees offset = 0xffffffffffffffc1 and __fls(mask) = 63; the sum is 0 in u64 and the bounds check passes. That offset propagates into kvm_arch_mmu_enable_log_dirty_pt_masked() unchanged. On the legacy MMU path -- kvm_memslots_have_rmaps() == true, i.e. shadow paging, any VM that has allocated shadow roots, or a write-tracked slot -- it reaches gfn_to_rmap(), which indexes slot->arch.rmap[0][] with a near-U64_MAX gfn. That is an out-of-bounds load of a kvm_rmap_head, followed by a conditional clear of PT_WRITABLE_MASK in whatever the loaded pointer points at. The path is reachable from any process holding /dev/kvm. Range-check offset on its own first, so the addition cannot wrap. memslot->npages is bounded well below U64_MAX, so once offset < npages holds, offset + __fls(mask) (with __fls(mask) < BITS_PER_LONG) stays in range.
Severe if exploited (CVSS 7), but no known exploitation and low modeled probability. Patch on a normal cadence.
Exploitation likelihood
0.2%chance of exploitation in 30 days · 5th percentile
Impact if exploited
7CVSS 3.1 · HIGH
- ConfidentialityHigh
- IntegrityHigh
- AvailabilityHigh
What an attacker needs
- ⚠Access: Requires local access to the host
- ⚠Privileges: Requires a low-privilege account
- ✓User interaction: No user interaction needed
- ⚠Complexity: Needs a race window or specific setup
✓ lowers the bar for an attacker · ⚠ raises it
Proof of concept & exploit code
- github-search Search GitHub for public PoC repos
Test against your own equipment
curl -s https://vulnpedia.com/cve/CVE-2026-52969/poc.jsonMachine-readable PoC index for this CVE (for automation).Listed for defensive triage, patch verification, and authorized testing on systems you own. Machine-readable: /cve/CVE-2026-52969/poc.json
Affected
Products Linux Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Linux Kernel
Weakness (CWE)
- CWE-190: Integer Overflow or Wraparound
- CWE-129: Improper Validation of Array Index
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Known Affected Software Configurations
| Vendor | Product | Version range |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux Kernel | ≥ 5.11 and < 5.15.209 |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | ≥ 5.16 and < 6.1.175 |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | ≥ 6.2 and < 6.6.141 |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | ≥ 6.7 and < 6.12.91 |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | ≥ 6.13 and < 6.18.33 |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | ≥ 6.19 and < 7.0.10 |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | 7.1 |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | 7.1 |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | 7.1 |
All CVSS metrics
- HIGH 7 v3.1 · ADP Primary
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - HIGH 7.8 v3.1 · NVD Primary
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - HIGH 7 v3.1 · NVD Secondary
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
References
Patches & mitigations
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/74f1a22f7a80f03d28ad8551a2d25d563433addf
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0eb281eb95b2d4eea4db1da5fe91023aecc97095
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/01b71b930f15728aa8599478a7ce90c19dcd9fc2
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b315b033a877b1ee6d827810b5d7bb4392ffcf8d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0d419c23bb11b5c9664de777c47c1f04a235882d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ecf9b3ea7847fe14f34b8c41f00de1eb95c747da
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/577a8d3bae0531f0e5ccfac919cd8192f920a804