CVE-2024-50115
KVM: nSVM: Ignore nCR3[4:0] when loading PDPTEs from memory
- State
- Published
- Severity
- 8.4 High
- Published
- Nov 5, 2024
- Updated
- Aug 5, 2026
- Reserved
- Oct 21, 2024
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
KVM: nSVM: Ignore nCR3[4:0] when loading PDPTEs from memory
Ignore nCR3[4:0] when loading PDPTEs from memory for nested SVM, as bits 4:0 of CR3 are ignored when PAE paging is used, and thus VMRUN doesn't enforce 32-byte alignment of nCR3.
In the absolute worst case scenario, failure to ignore bits 4:0 can result in an out-of-bounds read, e.g. if the target page is at the end of a memslot, and the VMM isn't using guard pages.
Per the APM:
The CR3 register points to the base address of the page-directory-pointer table. The page-directory-pointer table is aligned on a 32-byte boundary, with the low 5 address bits 4:0 assumed to be 0.
And the SDM's much more explicit:
4:0 Ignored
Note, KVM gets this right when loading PDPTRs, it's only the nSVM flow that is broken.
Scores
| CVSS | Score | Vector | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | 8.4 High | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:H | Linux |
| 3.1 | 7.1 High | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H | CISA-ADP |
Weaknesses
- CWE-125 Out-of-bounds Read
Affected Products
| Product | Versions |
|---|---|
LinuxLinux |
|
LinuxLinux |
|
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/76ce386feb14ec9a460784fcd495d8432acce7a5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/58cb697d80e669c56197f703e188867c8c54c494
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6876793907cbe19d42e9edc8c3315a21e06c32ae
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2c4adc9b192a0815fe58a62bc0709449416cc884
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/426682afec71ea3f889b972d038238807b9443e4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f559b2e9c5c5308850544ab59396b7d53cfc67bd
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/03/msg00002.html
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/01/msg00001.html
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