CVE-2026-80895

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mshv: Order pt_vp_array publish against irqfd assertion path mshv_partition_ioctl_create_vp() initialises a VP struct (allocations, mutex_init, init_waitqueue_head, page mappings) and then publishes the pointer into partition->pt_vp_array. Several ISR paths read this array locklessly: the intercept ISR, the two scheduler ISRs, and mshv_try_assert_irq_fast() on the irqfd fast path. Of these, only mshv_try_assert_irq_fast() can structurally race the publish. It runs from an eventfd waker without holding pt_mutex, and MSHV_IRQFD does not require the target lapic_apic_id (== vp_index) to refer to an existing VP at registration time. A user can therefore register an irqfd targeting a yet-to-be-created VP, then trigger mshv_try_assert_irq_fast() concurrently with MSHV_CREATE_VP for the same index. On weakly-ordered architectures the reader can observe a non-NULL pointer in pt_vp_array before the initialising stores to the VP struct become visible, leading to use of partially-initialised fields (e.g. vp_register_page). The other ISR readers cannot reach this race: the hypervisor will not generate intercept or scheduler messages for a VP that has never been told to run, and the user can only call MSHV_RUN_VP on the VP fd returned by MSHV_CREATE_VP, which by construction is returned after the publish. Leave those readers as plain loads. Use smp_store_release() in mshv_partition_ioctl_create_vp() to publish the pointer, and pair it with smp_load_acquire() in mshv_try_assert_irq_fast(). On x86 these compile to plain accesses under TSO; on ARM64 they emit one-instruction acquire/release barriers, acceptable on this fast path. The destroy-side path (destroy_partition() clearing pt_vp_array[i] to NULL after kfree(vp)) has a separate ordering and lifetime concern that is out of scope here.

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EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0017

Probability of exploitation

0.06%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

References

Other References

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/062aa5dcc49a9ad96726a80c2a0ab0a1233bc2b9 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b098dc869219c15dc49bf9cf63fb5fc1481d3373 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/eba2bf5daa7933f94c53ebbbf0f567d4274716df

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-80895? +

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mshv: Order pt_vp_array publish against irqfd assertion path mshv_partition_ioctl_create_vp() initialises a VP struct (allocations, mutex_init, init_waitqueue_head, page mappings) and then publishes the pointer into partition->pt_vp_array. Several ISR paths read this array locklessly: the intercept ISR, the two scheduler ISRs, and mshv_try_assert_irq_fast() on the irqfd fast path. Of these, only mshv_try_assert_irq_fast() can structurally race the publish. It runs from an eventfd waker without holding pt_mutex, and MSHV_IRQFD does not require the target lapic_apic_id (== vp_index) to refer to an existing VP at registration time. A user can therefore register an irqfd targeting a yet-to-be-created VP, then trigger mshv_try_assert_irq_fast() concurrently with MSHV_CREATE_VP for the same index. On weakly-ordered architectures the reader can observe a non-NULL pointer in pt_vp_array before the initialising stores to the VP struct become visible, leading to use of partially-initialised fields (e.g. vp_register_page). The other ISR readers cannot reach this race: the hypervisor will not generate intercept or scheduler messages for a VP that has never been told to run, and the user can only call MSHV_RUN_VP on the VP fd returned by MSHV_CREATE_VP, which by construction is returned after the publish. Leave those readers as plain loads. Use smp_store_release() in mshv_partition_ioctl_create_vp() to publish the pointer, and pair it with smp_load_acquire() in mshv_try_assert_irq_fast(). On x86 these compile to plain accesses under TSO; on ARM64 they emit one-instruction acquire/release barriers, acceptable on this fast path. The destroy-side path (destroy_partition() clearing pt_vp_array[i] to NULL after kfree(vp)) has a separate ordering and lifetime concern that is out of scope here.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-80895? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.