CVE-2026-52969

Status: AnalyzedHigh (7.8)—

In 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

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.

Read full descriptionShow less

Crafting two entries

makes the coalescing loop in kvm_dirty_ring_reset() compute

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.

Technical details traces, logs and code from the original report

	if (!memslot || (offset + __fls(mask)) >= memslot->npages)
		return;

	entry[i].offset   = 0xffffffffffffffc1
	entry[i+1].offset = 0

	delta = (s64)(0 - 0xffffffffffffffc1) = 63

CVSS

Version: 3.1
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Base score: 7.8

Exploitation probability (EPSS)

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.19%
Percentile among all scored CVEs: 8
Score date: 10/5/2026

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.

ExploitationT1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalationprivilege escalation95 %
Primary impactT1059 Command and Scripting Interpreterexecution85 %
Secondary impactT1565.001 Stored Data Manipulationimpact75 %

AV:L/PR:L sin UI permite escalada local. Acceso a out-of-bounds memory y manipulación de bit masks en rmap permite ejecución de código o corrupción de memoria del kernel.

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

Execution Prevention Threat Intelligence Program Restrict Web-Based Content Restrict File and Directory Permissions Privileged Account Management Remote Data Storage

Affected technologies (1)

Linux — Linux Kernel

CWEs

CWE-129
CWE-190

References

Raw JSON (NVD)

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      "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nKVM: Reject wrapped offset in kvm_reset_dirty_gfn()\n\nkvm_reset_dirty_gfn() guards the gfn range with\n\n\tif (!memslot || (offset + __fls(mask)) >= memslot->npages)\n\t\treturn;\n\nbut offset is u64 and the addition is unchecked.  The check can be\nsilently bypassed by a u64 wrap.\n\nThe dirty ring backing those entries is MAP_SHARED at\nKVM_DIRTY_LOG_PAGE_OFFSET of the vcpu fd, so the VMM can rewrite the\nslot and offset fields of any entry between when the kernel pushes\nthem and when KVM_RESET_DIRTY_RINGS consumes them.  On reset,\nkvm_dirty_ring_reset() re-reads the values via READ_ONCE() and feeds\nthem straight back into this check; only the flags handshake is\ntreated as the handover, the slot/offset payload is taken on trust.\n\nCrafting two entries\n\n\tentry[i].offset   = 0xffffffffffffffc1\n\tentry[i+1].offset = 0\n\nmakes the coalescing loop in kvm_dirty_ring_reset() compute\n\n\tdelta = (s64)(0 - 0xffffffffffffffc1) = 63\n\nwhich falls in [0, BITS_PER_LONG), so it folds entry[i+1] into the\nexisting mask by setting bit 63.  The trailing kvm_reset_dirty_gfn()\ncall then sees offset = 0xffffffffffffffc1 and __fls(mask) = 63;\nthe sum is 0 in u64 and the bounds check passes.\n\nThat offset propagates into kvm_arch_mmu_enable_log_dirty_pt_masked()\nunchanged.  On the legacy MMU path -- kvm_memslots_have_rmaps() ==\ntrue, i.e. shadow paging, any VM that has allocated shadow roots, or\na write-tracked slot -- it reaches gfn_to_rmap(), which indexes\nslot->arch.rmap[0][] with a near-U64_MAX gfn.  That is an\nout-of-bounds load of a kvm_rmap_head, followed by a conditional\nclear of PT_WRITABLE_MASK in whatever the loaded pointer points at.\nThe path is reachable from any process holding /dev/kvm.\n\nRange-check offset on its own first, so the addition cannot wrap.\nmemslot->npages is bounded well below U64_MAX, so once offset <\nnpages holds, offset + __fls(mask) (with __fls(mask) < BITS_PER_LONG)\nstays in range."
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