CVE-2026-72284

Description

A flaw was found in the Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) subsystem of the Linux kernel, specifically in the handling of Paravirtualized End Of Interrupt (PV EOI) for x86 virtual CPUs. A local attacker in a guest virtual machine could exploit a race condition where a virtual CPU disables PV EOIs after a request has been made. This can lead to an assertion failure, causing a kernel panic and resulting in a denial of service on the host system.

Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details

Info alert: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 Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).

The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.

CVSS v3 Score Breakdown

Red HatNVDcve.org
Base Score7N/A7.1
Attack VectorLocalN/ALocal
Attack ComplexityHighN/ALow
Privileges RequiredLowN/ANone
User InteractionNoneN/ANone
ScopeUnchangedN/AChanged
ConfidentialityHighN/ANone
Integrity ImpactHighN/ANone
Availability ImpactHighN/AHigh

Vector

Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H

Understanding the Weakness (CWE)

Availability

Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart

An attacker that can trigger an assert statement can still lead to a denial of service if the relevant code can be triggered by an attacker, and if the scope of the assert() extends beyond the attacker's own session.

Frequently Asked Questions

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