GHSA-GXV2-5VPW-RGJQ
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-08-15 15:30 – Updated: 2026-08-17 06:33In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
KVM: arm64: vgic: Fix race between LPI release and re-registration
Fix a potential race between decrementing an LPI's reference count and evicting that structure from the LPI xarray.
LPI structures are maintained in the VGIC LPI xarray (dist->lpi_xa). When the reference count of an LPI structure drops to zero, vgic_release_lpi_locked() removes the structure from the xarray and frees it under the xarray lock.
However, the release of an LPI can race with a concurrent LPI re-registration with the same INTID via vgic_add_lpi() on another CPU, since the reference count drop and the xarray eviction are not performed in a single atomic step. This can happen e.g. if the guest issues a DISCARD while the LPI is still referenced from a vCPU's active-pending list (ap_list), and the same INTID is re-mapped via MAPTI.
Particularly, vgic_release_lpi_locked() is called from two distinct paths: direct release via vgic_put_irq(), and deferred release via vgic_release_deleted_lpis(). During direct release, the issue can result in deleting a newly registered LPI from the xarray:
CPU0 (Releasing LPI) CPU1 (Adding new LPI) ==================== ===================== vgic_put_irq() __vgic_put_irq() refcount_dec_and_test() vgic_add_lpi() xa_lock_irqsave() old_irq = xa_load(.., intid) vgic_try_get_irq_ref(old_irq) == false new IRQ inserted --> __xa_store(.., intid, ..) xa_unlock_irqrestore() xa_lock_irqsave(); vgic_release_lpi_locked() __xa_erase(.., irq->intid) <-- BUG: new IRQ is erased kfree_rcu(old_irq)
During the deferred release path, the old IRQ can be leaked:
CPU0 (Releasing LPI) CPU1 (Adding new LPI) ==================== ===================== vgic_put_irq_norelease() __vgic_put_irq() refcount_dec_and_test() irq->pending_release = true vgic_add_lpi() xa_lock_irqsave() old_irq = xa_load(.., intid) vgic_try_get_irq_ref(oldirq) == false BUG: old IRQ overwritten --> __xa_store(.., intid, ..) xa_unlock_irqrestore()
vgic_release_deleted_lpis() xa_lock_irqsave() xa_for_each() { .. } <-- old IRQ with pending_release = true is gone, so it cannot be released
To fix the direct release path, move the reference count drop inside the xarray lock, making sure that vgic_add_lpi() never encounters the to-be-released LPI.
In the deferred release path, the refcount drop must happen under a raw spinlock, so the xarray lock cannot be grabbed, and the same solution does not work. Instead, update vgic_add_lpi(), so that if it evicts an LPI from the xarray, it takes on the responsibility of freeing it. Consequently, an LPI may now be freed concurrently after a deferred release drops the refcount, so accessing the pending_release field is no longer safe from use-after-free. Delete all uses of the flag, and update vgic_release_deleted_lpis() to identify orphaned LPIs purely based on their refcount.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-74568"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2026-08-15T13:18:02Z",
"severity": "CRITICAL"
},
"details": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nKVM: arm64: vgic: Fix race between LPI release and re-registration\n\nFix a potential race between decrementing an LPI\u0027s reference count and\nevicting that structure from the LPI xarray.\n\nLPI structures are maintained in the VGIC LPI xarray (dist-\u003elpi_xa).\nWhen the reference count of an LPI structure drops to zero,\nvgic_release_lpi_locked() removes the structure from the xarray and\nfrees it under the xarray lock.\n\nHowever, the release of an LPI can race with a concurrent LPI\nre-registration with the same INTID via vgic_add_lpi() on another CPU,\nsince the reference count drop and the xarray eviction are not performed\nin a single atomic step. This can happen e.g. if the guest issues a\nDISCARD while the LPI is still referenced from a vCPU\u0027s active-pending\nlist (ap_list), and the same INTID is re-mapped via MAPTI.\n\nParticularly, vgic_release_lpi_locked() is called from two distinct\npaths: direct release via vgic_put_irq(), and deferred release via\nvgic_release_deleted_lpis(). During direct release, the issue can result\nin deleting a newly registered LPI from the xarray:\n\n CPU0 (Releasing LPI) CPU1 (Adding new LPI)\n ==================== =====================\n vgic_put_irq()\n __vgic_put_irq()\n refcount_dec_and_test()\n vgic_add_lpi()\n xa_lock_irqsave()\n old_irq = xa_load(.., intid)\n vgic_try_get_irq_ref(old_irq) == false\n new IRQ inserted --\u003e __xa_store(.., intid, ..)\n xa_unlock_irqrestore()\n xa_lock_irqsave();\n vgic_release_lpi_locked()\n __xa_erase(.., irq-\u003eintid) \u003c-- BUG: new IRQ is erased\n kfree_rcu(old_irq)\n\nDuring the deferred release path, the old IRQ can be leaked:\n\n CPU0 (Releasing LPI) CPU1 (Adding new LPI)\n ==================== =====================\n vgic_put_irq_norelease()\n __vgic_put_irq()\n refcount_dec_and_test()\n irq-\u003epending_release = true\n vgic_add_lpi()\n xa_lock_irqsave()\n old_irq = xa_load(.., intid)\n vgic_try_get_irq_ref(oldirq) == false\n BUG: old IRQ overwritten --\u003e __xa_store(.., intid, ..)\n xa_unlock_irqrestore()\n\n vgic_release_deleted_lpis()\n xa_lock_irqsave()\n xa_for_each() { .. } \u003c-- old IRQ with pending_release = true\n is gone, so it cannot be released\n\nTo fix the direct release path, move the reference count drop inside\nthe xarray lock, making sure that vgic_add_lpi() never encounters the\nto-be-released LPI.\n\nIn the deferred release path, the refcount drop must happen under a raw\nspinlock, so the xarray lock cannot be grabbed, and the same solution\ndoes not work. Instead, update vgic_add_lpi(), so that if it evicts\nan LPI from the xarray, it takes on the responsibility of freeing it.\nConsequently, an LPI may now be freed concurrently after a deferred\nrelease drops the refcount, so accessing the pending_release field is no\nlonger safe from use-after-free. Delete all uses of the flag, and update\nvgic_release_deleted_lpis() to identify orphaned LPIs purely based on\ntheir refcount.",
"id": "GHSA-gxv2-5vpw-rgjq",
"modified": "2026-08-17T06:33:54Z",
"published": "2026-08-15T15:30:36Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-74568"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/292e80a159aa88635bf668a7212cfdf526b8bd52"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cbfe2b24a1ea9de35032dbdd100fdc700f5be92d"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
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- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
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- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.