CVE-2026-46295
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: x86: Do IRR scan in __kvm_apic_update_irr even if PIR is empty Fall back to apic_find_highest_vector() when PID.ON is set but PIR turns out to be empty, to correctly report the highest pending interrupt from the existing IRR. In a nested VM stress test, the following WARNING fires in vmx_check_nested_events() when kvm_cpu_has_interrupt() reports a pending interrupt but the subsequent kvm_apic_has_interrupt() (which invokes vmx_sync_pir_to_irr() again) returns -1: WARNING: CPU: 99 PID: 57767 at arch/x86/kvm/vmx/nested.c:4449 vmx_check_nested_events+0x6bf/0x6e0 [kvm_intel] Call Trace: kvm_check_and_inject_events vcpu_enter_guest.constprop.0 vcpu_run kvm_arch_vcpu_ioctl_run kvm_vcpu_ioctl __x64_sys_ioctl do_syscall_64 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe The root cause is a race between vmx_sync_pir_to_irr() on the target vCPU and __vmx_deliver_posted_interrupt() on a sender vCPU. The sender performs two individually-atomic operations that are not a single transaction: 1. pi_test_and_set_pir(vector) -- sets the PIR bit 2. pi_test_and_set_on() -- sets PID.ON The following interleaving triggers the bug: Sender vCPU (IPI): Target vCPU (1st sync_pir_to_irr): B1: set PIR[vector] A1: pi_clear_on() A2: pi_harvest_pir() -> sees B1 bit A3: xchg() -> consumes bit, PIR=0 (1st sync returns correct max_irr) B2: set PID.ON = 1 Target vCPU (2nd sync_pir_to_irr): C1: pi_test_on() -> TRUE (from B2) C2: pi_clear_on() -> ON=0 C3: pi_harvest_pir() -> PIR empty C4: *max_irr = -1, early return IRR NOT SCANNED The interrupt is not lost (it resides in the IRR from the first sync and is recovered on the next vcpu_enter_guest() iteration), but the incorrect max_irr causes a spurious WARNING and a wasted L2 VM-Enter/VM-Exit cycle.
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
6.16
and later are affected. Fixed in
6.18.30,
7.0.7,
7.1-rc3
and their respective stable series.
References
The following references provide additional information about CVE-2026-46295 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/33fd0ccd2590b470b65adcca288615ad3b5e3e06
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4b6b06a8b12bfd95f9015074b1430c1480908073
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bb1703949dcaa9a49c338dee075f659f4634214d
Frequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2026-46295?
CVE-2026-46295 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.16 onward and has been patched in 6.18.30, 7.0.7 and 7.1-rc3. CVE-2026-46295 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-46295?
Yes — CVE-2026-46295 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.18.30, 7.0.7 and 7.1-rc3. If you are running Linux kernel 6.16 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2026-46295 actively exploited?
No — CVE-2026-46295 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.