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CVE-2026-45944

Status: ModifiedHigh (7.5)—

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

iommu/vt-d: Clear Present bit before tearing down context entry

When tearing down a context entry, the current implementation zeros the entire 128-bit entry using multiple 64-bit writes. This creates a window where the hardware can fetch a "torn" entry — where some fields are already zeroed while the 'Present' bit is still set — leading to unpredictable behavior or spurious faults.

While x86 provides strong write ordering, the compiler may reorder writes to the two 64-bit halves of the context entry. Even without compiler reordering, the hardware fetch is not guaranteed to be atomic with respect to multiple CPU writes.

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Align with the "Guidance to Software for Invalidations" in the VT-d spec (Section 6.5.3.3) by implementing the recommended ownership handshake:

1. Clear only the 'Present' (P) bit of the context entry first to signal the transition of ownership from hardware to software. 2. Use dma_wmb() to ensure the cleared bit is visible to the IOMMU. 3. Perform the required cache and context-cache invalidation to ensure hardware no longer has cached references to the entry. 4. Fully zero out the entry only after the invalidation is complete.

Also, add a dma_wmb() to context_set_present() to ensure the entry is fully initialized before the 'Present' bit becomes visible.

CVSS

Exploitation probability (EPSS)

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System, FIRST) estimates how likely a vulnerability is to be exploited in the wild within 30 days. It complements CVSS (impact) and CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).

🎯 ATT&CK techniques

How this vulnerability is exploited and what the attacker gains, in MITRE ATT&CK terms.

Vuln. local (AV:L) sin interacción (UI:N) permite a atacante privilegiado (PR:H) corromper estructura de contexto IOMMU, causando fallos impredecibles o DoS de memoria, y posible corrupción de datos DMA.

Inferred by our analysis agent from the official description, CVSS vector and CWE, and checked by a supervisor. May contain errors.

🛡️ ATT&CK mitigations that cover these techniques

Threat Intelligence ProgramRestrict File and Directory PermissionsRemote Data StorageFilter Network TrafficExecution PreventionEncrypt Sensitive Information

Affected technologies (1)

Linux — Linux Kernel

CWEs

References

Raw JSON (NVD)

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{
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      "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\niommu/vt-d: Clear Present bit before tearing down context entry\n\nWhen tearing down a context entry, the current implementation zeros the\nentire 128-bit entry using multiple 64-bit writes. This creates a window\nwhere the hardware can fetch a \"torn\" entry — where some fields are\nalready zeroed while the 'Present' bit is still set — leading to\nunpredictable behavior or spurious faults.\n\nWhile x86 provides strong write ordering, the compiler may reorder writes\nto the two 64-bit halves of the context entry. Even without compiler\nreordering, the hardware fetch is not guaranteed to be atomic with\nrespect to multiple CPU writes.\n\nAlign with the \"Guidance to Software for Invalidations\" in the VT-d spec\n(Section 6.5.3.3) by implementing the recommended ownership handshake:\n\n1. Clear only the 'Present' (P) bit of the context entry first to\n   signal the transition of ownership from hardware to software.\n2. Use dma_wmb() to ensure the cleared bit is visible to the IOMMU.\n3. Perform the required cache and context-cache invalidation to ensure\n   hardware no longer has cached references to the entry.\n4. Fully zero out the entry only after the invalidation is complete.\n\nAlso, add a dma_wmb() to context_set_present() to ensure the entry\nis fully initialized before the 'Present' bit becomes visible."
    }
  ],
  "lastModified": "2026-07-24T15:17:21.957",
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