HIGH Introduced in 2.6.36
Januscape
CVE-2026-53359
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
01Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: x86: Fix shadow paging use-after-free due to unexpected role Commit 0cb2af2ea66ad ("KVM: x86: Fix shadow paging use-after-free due to unexpected GFN") fixed a shadow paging mismatch between stored and computed GFNs; the bug could be triggered by changing a PDE mapping from outside the guest, and then deleting a memslot. The rmap_remove() call would miss entries created after the PDE change because the GFN of the leaf SPTE does not match the GFN of the struct kvm_mmu_page. A similar hole however remains if the modified PDE points to a non-leaf page. In this case the gfn can be made to match, but the role does not match: the original large 2MB page creates a kvm_mmu_page with direct=1, while the new 4KB needs a kvm_mmu_page with direct=0. However, kvm_mmu_get_child_sp() does not compare the role, and therefore reuses the page. The next step is installing a leaf (4KB) SPTE on the new path which records an rmap entry under the gfn resolved by the walk. But when that child is zapped its parent kvm_mmu_page has direct=1 and kvm_mmu_page_get_gfn() computes the gfn for the 4KB page as sp->gfn + index instead of using sp->shadowed_translation[] (or sp->gfns[] in older kernels). It therefore fails to remove the recorded entry. When the memslot is dropped the shadow page is freed but the rmap entry survives, as in the scenario that was already fixed. Code that later walks that gfn (dirty logging, MMU notifier invalidation, and so on) dereferences an sptep that lies in the freed page, causing the use-after-free.
02KernelScan AI Analysis
Risk summary
A local unprivileged user running a guest VM can trigger a use-after-free in the KVM shadow paging subsystem by manipulating guest page directory entries to cause a role mismatch in kvm_mmu_get_child_sp(), then deleting a memslot. The freed shadow page memory can subsequently be dereferenced by dirty logging, MMU notifier invalidation, or other GFN-walking code paths, potentially enabling privilege escalation from guest to host kernel. This affects any x86 KVM host using shadow paging (non-EPT or forced shadow paging mode).
Vulnerability analysis
The root cause is in kvm_mmu_get_child_sp() in arch/x86/kvm/mmu/mmu.c: when checking whether an existing shadow page can be reused, the code compared only the GFN but not the role (direct vs. indirect). An attacker controlling a guest can change a PDE mapping from a large 2MB page (which creates a kvm_mmu_page with direct=1) to a 4KB page (which requires direct=0). Because kvm_mmu_get_child_sp() did not compare the role, it would reuse the existing direct=1 shadow page for the new indirect mapping. When a leaf 4KB SPTE is subsequently installed, an rmap entry is recorded under the GFN resolved by the walk. However, when that child page is zapped, kvm_mmu_page_get_gfn() uses the direct=1 formula (sp->gfn + index) rather than sp->shadowed_translation[], so it computes the wrong GFN and fails to remove the rmap entry. When the memslot is deleted, the shadow page is freed but the stale rmap entry remains. Later code paths (dirty logging, MMU notifier invalidation) that walk that GFN dereference the sptep in the freed page, causing a use-after-free. The fix adds a role.word comparison in the early-exit check of kvm_mmu_get_child_sp(), ensuring a shadow page is only reused when both GFN and role match. The attack requires the ability to run a guest VM (PR:Low) and involves specific page table manipulation making it AC:High. Since this is a guest-to-host kernel escape, Scope is Changed.
03Fix Versions
| Branch | Introduced | Fixed in | Patch commit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | 2.6.36 | 6.1.177 | b1337aae5e19 |
| 6.12 | 2.6.36 | 6.12.95 | 2ad3afa40ac6 |
| 6.18 | 2.6.36 | 6.18.38 | 5e470998a23e |
| 6.6 | 2.6.36 | 6.6.144 | 9291654d69e0 |
| 7.1 | 2.6.36 | 7.1.3 | 1ae7d5a6db6c |
| mainline | 2.6.36 | 7.2-rc1 | 81ccda30b4e8 |