In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: SEV: Reject attempts to...

Description

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

KVM: SEV: Reject attempts to sync VMSA of an already-launched/encrypted vCPU

Reject synchronizing vCPU state to its associated VMSA if the vCPU has
already been launched, i.e. if the VMSA has already been encrypted. On a
host with SNP enabled, accessing guest-private memory generates an RMP #PF
and panics the host.

BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ff1276cbfdf36000
#PF: supervisor write access in kernel mode
#PF: error_code(0x80000003) - RMP violation
PGD 5a31801067 P4D 5a31802067 PUD 40ccfb5063 PMD 40e5954063 PTE 80000040fdf36163
SEV-SNP: PFN 0x40fdf36, RMP entry: [0x6010fffffffff001 - 0x000000000000001f]
Oops: Oops: 0003 [#1] SMP NOPTI
CPU: 33 UID: 0 PID: 996180 Comm: qemu-system-x86 Tainted: G OE
Tainted: [O]=OOT_MODULE, [E]=UNSIGNED_MODULE
Hardware name: Dell Inc. PowerEdge R7625/0H1TJT, BIOS 1.5.8 07/21/2023
RIP: 0010:sev_es_sync_vmsa+0x54/0x4c0 [kvm_amd]
Call Trace:
<TASK>
snp_launch_update_vmsa+0x19d/0x290 [kvm_amd]
snp_launch_finish+0xb6/0x380 [kvm_amd]
sev_mem_enc_ioctl+0x14e/0x720 [kvm_amd]
kvm_arch_vm_ioctl+0x837/0xcf0 [kvm]
kvm_vm_ioctl+0x3fd/0xcc0 [kvm]
__x64_sys_ioctl+0xa3/0x100
x64_sys_call+0xfe0/0x2350
do_syscall_64+0x81/0x10f0
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e
RIP: 0033:0x7ffff673287d
</TASK>

Note, the KVM flaw has been present since commit ad73109ae7ec ("KVM: SVM:
Provide support to launch and run an SEV-ES guest"), but has only been
actively dangerous for the host since SNP support was added. With SEV-ES,
KVM would "just" clobber guest state, which is totally fine from a host
kernel perspective since userspace can clobber guest state any time before
sev_launch_update_vmsa().

Basic information

Type
unreviewed
Severity
medium
Advisory on GitHub
Open advisory ↗
Repository advisory
Source code
Not specified
Published (advisory)
2026-04-24 15:32:34 UTC
Updated
2026-04-29 15:31:44 UTC
NVD published
2026-04-24

EPSS Score

Score Percentile
0.01% 2.22%

CVSS Scores

Base score Version Severity Vector
5.5 3.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

Identifiers

References

cvelogic Threat Intelligence