CVE-2026-98464
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: RISC-V: KVM: Synchronize hrtimer callback during teardown The non-Sstc hrtimer callback clears next_set before its final uses of the enclosing vCPU. If teardown observes next_set as false while the callback is still running, kvm_riscv_vcpu_timer_cancel() skips hrtimer_cancel() and kvm_destroy_vcpus() can free the vCPU before the callback enters kvm_riscv_vcpu_set_interrupt(). A guest can arm the timer with SBI TIME and request shutdown with SBI legacy shutdown or SRST. A VMM that honors KVM_EXIT_SYSTEM_EVENT and destroys the VM supplies the teardown side of the race; no post-launch host ioctl is needed to arm or request teardown. On upstream master 62cc90241548, generic KASAN reported: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in do_raw_spin_lock Write of size 4 at addr ff60000005e58898 kvm_riscv_vcpu_set_interrupt kvm_riscv_vcpu_hrtimer_expired __hrtimer_run_queues hrtimer_interrupt The object was allocated by KVM_CREATE_VCPU and freed concurrently by: kvm_destroy_vcpus kvm_arch_destroy_vm kvm_destroy_vm __fput For deterministic validation, I added mdelay(1000) immediately after the existing next_set = false assignment. This only widens the existing post-clear callback window. A no-delay trace build naturally reached the callback-after-teardown-start/before-deinit ordering in 12 of 200 runs, but 1,500 stock-kernel stress iterations did not produce a KASAN report, so natural reproduction is timing-sensitive. Always invoke hrtimer_cancel() for an initialized timer. Preserve the existing -EINVAL result when the timer is no longer set, but only after synchronizing with a running callback. With this patch, hrtimer_cancel() blocked for the full widened callback window before vCPU destruction. KASAN reported no error in 100 fixed-and-widened runs or 200 fix-only timing-sweep runs.
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
5.16
and later are affected. Fixed in
6.1.189,
6.6.158,
6.12.112,
6.18.55,
7.2.9,
7.3
and their respective stable series.
References
6 totalFrequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2026-98464?
CVE-2026-98464 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 5.16 onward and has been patched in 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112 and others. CVE-2026-98464 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-2026-98464?
Yes. CVE-2026-98464 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 5.16 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2026-98464 actively exploited?
No. CVE-2026-98464 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.