CVE-2026-46113
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Description
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) x86 shadow paging mechanism. This use-after-free vulnerability arises from incorrect handling of Guest Frame Numbers (GFNs) when guest page tables are modified. A local attacker with control over a guest virtual machine could exploit this to dereference freed memory, potentially leading to information disclosure, privilege escalation, or a denial of service (DoS).
Statement
The attack vector is from the guest to the host if KVM being used (and Shadow paging being used). KVM x86 shadow paging can leave a stale rmap entry when a direct shadow page is reused with an unexpected GFN after guest page table changes between VM entries. Later memslot deletion, dirty logging, or MMU notifier invalidation can walk the stale rmap and dereference a freed kvm_mmu_page, resulting in a use-after-free in the host kernel. For the CVSS the PR:L is used because a local actor with access to KVM or control of a guest execution context can influence the guest mappings and related memory management operations. The issue is not a normal network reachable bug, but it can cross the guest to host boundary in virtualized deployments. Impact is at least host denial of service and in the paranoid score may include confidentiality and integrity impact due to a plausible UAF based memory corruption primitive. For the paranoid score, choose the highest still-defensible interpretation supported by the bug class and patch context, with preference for manual-review sensitivity over autoclosed false negat ives.
Mitigation
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options don't meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.
Additional information
- This content is not included.Bugzilla 2482587: kernel: KVM: x86: Fix shadow paging use-after-free due to unexpected GFN
- Content from cwe.mitre.org is not included.CWE-416: Use After Free
Affected Packages and Issued Red Hat Security Errata
Unless explicitly stated as not affected, all previous versions of packages in any minor update stream of a product listed here should be assumed vulnerable, although may not have been subject to full analysis.
| Products / Services | Components | State | Errata |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | kernel | Fixed | RHSA-2026:36956 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | kernel | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | kernel | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | kernel-rt | Not affected | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | kernel-rt | Fixed | RHSA-2026:39082 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | kernel | Fixed | RHSA-2026:39083 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Telecommunications Update Service | kernel | Fixed | RHSA-2026:41229 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Update Services for SAP Solutions | kernel | Fixed | RHSA-2026:41229 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | kernel-rt | Fix deferred | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | kernel | Fixed | RHSA-2026:36957 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Update Services for SAP Solutions | kernel-rt | Fixed | RHSA-2026:39983 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Update Services for SAP Solutions | kernel | Fixed | RHSA-2026:40082 |
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authorities (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications ).
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS v3 Base Score | 5.8 | N/A | 8.8 |
| Attack Vector | Local | N/A | Local |
| Attack Complexity | High | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | Low | N/A | Low |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Changed |
| Confidentiality Impact | Low | N/A | High |
| Integrity Impact | Low | N/A | High |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | High |
CVSS v3 Vector
Red Hat CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H
cve.org CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Red Hat's CVSS v3 score or Impact different from other vendors?
For more information, see https://access.redhat.com/solutions/762393.
My product is listed as "Under investigation" or "Affected", when will Red Hat release a fix for this vulnerability?
- "Under investigation" doesn't necessarily mean that the product is affected by this vulnerability. It only means that our Analysis Team is still working on determining whether the product is affected and how it is affected.
- "Affected" means that our Analysis Team has determined that this product is affected by this vulnerability and might release a fix to address this in the near future.
What can I do if my product is listed as "Will not fix"?
Available options depend mostly on the Impact of the vulnerability and the current Life Cycle phase of your product. Overall, you have the following options:
- Upgrade to a supported product version that includes a fix for this vulnerability (recommended).
- Apply a mitigation (if one exists).
- Open a This content is not included.support case to request a prioritization of releasing a fix for this vulnerability.
What can I do if my product is listed as "Fix deferred"?
Available options depend mostly on the Impact of the vulnerability and the current Life Cycle phase of your product. Overall, you have the following options:
- Apply a mitigation (if one exists).
- Open a This content is not included.support case to request a prioritization of releasing a fix for this vulnerability.
- Red Hat Engineering focuses on addressing high-priority issues based on their complexity or limited lifecycle support. Therefore, lower-priority issues will not receive immediate fixes.
What is a mitigation?
I have a Red Hat product but it is not in the above list, is it affected?
Why is my security scanner reporting my product as vulnerable to this vulnerability even though my product version is fixed or not affected?
My product is listed as "Out of Support Scope". What does this mean?
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