CVE-2026-89777

vfio/pci: clear vdev->msi_perm after freeing it on init failure

State
Published
Severity
8.8 High
Published
Sep 16, 2026
Updated
Oct 19, 2026
Reserved
Sep 11, 2026

Read the record on cve.org

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

vfio/pci: clear vdev->msi_perm after freeing it on init failure

vfio_msi_cap_len() lazily allocates the per-device MSI permission table:

vdev->msi_perm = kmalloc_obj(struct perm_bits, GFP_KERNEL_ACCOUNT); if (!vdev->msi_perm) return -ENOMEM;

ret = init_pci_cap_msi_perm(vdev->msi_perm, len, flags); if (ret) { kfree(vdev->msi_perm); return ret; /* vdev->msi_perm left dangling */ }

When init_pci_cap_msi_perm() -> alloc_perm_bits() fails with -ENOMEM, the error path frees vdev->msi_perm but leaves the freed pointer stored in it. vdev->msi_perm is not re-zeroed later because struct vfio_pci_core_device is per-device and persists across open/close cycles, and the vfio_config_init() error path returns without calling vfio_config_free(). So the dangling pointer outlives the failed open.

That leads to two use-after-frees on the same device:

1. Reuse. The next vfio_config_init() sees the stale pointer at "if (vdev->msi_perm) return len;" and reuses the freed object. MSI config accesses in vfio_pci_config_rw_single() then dereference and call the freed perm->readfn / perm->writefn function pointers.

2. Double free. A later vfio_config_free() runs free_perm_bits() and kfree() on the already-freed object.

Fix it by NULLing vdev->msi_perm after the kfree(), matching the NULL-after-free discipline already used in free_perm_bits() and vfio_config_free().

BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in vfio_pci_config_rw_single (drivers/vfio/pci/vfio_pci_config.c:1961) Read of size 8 at addr ffff88800fcc88d0 by task exploit/143 Call Trace: ... kasan_report (mm/kasan/report.c:595) vfio_pci_config_rw_single (drivers/vfio/pci/vfio_pci_config.c:1961) vfio_pci_config_rw (drivers/vfio/pci/vfio_pci_config.c:1986) vfio_pci_rw (drivers/vfio/pci/vfio_pci_core.c:1599) vfs_read (fs/read_write.c:572) __x64_sys_pread64 (fs/read_write.c:764) do_syscall_64 (arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94) ...

Followed on device close by a double free of the same object:

Oops: general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0x1f63e0e8000008: 0000 [#1] SMP KASAN NOPTI RIP: 0010:kfree (mm/slub.c:6711) Call Trace: vfio_config_free (drivers/vfio/pci/vfio_pci_config.c:1861) vfio_pci_core_disable (drivers/vfio/pci/vfio_pci_core.c:685) vfio_pci_core_close_device (drivers/vfio/pci/vfio_pci_core.c:777) vfio_df_close (drivers/vfio/vfio_main.c:602) vfio_device_fops_release (drivers/vfio/vfio_main.c:648) __fput (fs/file_table.c:512) __x64_sys_close (fs/open.c:1496) do_syscall_64 (arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94) ... Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception

Scores

CVSSScoreVectorSource
3.18.8 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:HLinux

Weaknesses

The record names no weakness.

Affected Products

ProductVersions
LinuxLinux
  • 30ea32ab1951c80c6113f300fce2c70cd12659e4 to before eb84cd81040e58dd05ac190f561f2115e3367249Affected
  • 30ea32ab1951c80c6113f300fce2c70cd12659e4 to before f0eea8f9013676b42289ec35941e848b8a543e19Affected
  • 30ea32ab1951c80c6113f300fce2c70cd12659e4 to before d665a1688af7f8fefd7c0eb04f2a37122ce007f4Affected
  • 30ea32ab1951c80c6113f300fce2c70cd12659e4 to before 25cdd2a492d868cff1e519a60fe282909c52d385Affected
  • 30ea32ab1951c80c6113f300fce2c70cd12659e4 to before 812f1db7f0755a19ef16ecdc5cec51bcabc5eda5Affected
  • 30ea32ab1951c80c6113f300fce2c70cd12659e4 to before 533d0c5feef85ee6404b9f41d5564fac6971a008Affected
  • 30ea32ab1951c80c6113f300fce2c70cd12659e4 to before fda8fb7e8179561693a786a7af593f6b944a21c1Affected
  • 30ea32ab1951c80c6113f300fce2c70cd12659e4 to before dc77acfeb979dded39b247b60fef0399536bfa77Affected
  • ac370e3d1f3b01519d2705cd5815d1c9d0a8812bAffected
  • be363e27ec3c3a99793da2be6c07eafb95709c6bAffected
  • f1b10ba5739440ca51d66f0b2949cead88d2dd02Affected
  • dde3433de9a067a33d67d65b9093cad3e043e49eAffected
  • 4.4.203 to before 4.5Affected
  • 4.9.203 to before 4.10Affected
  • 4.14.155 to before 4.15Affected
  • 4.19.85 to before 4.20Affected
LinuxLinux
  • 4.20Affected
  • before 4.20Not affected
  • 5.10.270 through 5.10.*Not affected
  • 5.15.221 through 5.15.*Not affected
  • 6.1.188 through 6.1.*Not affected
  • 6.6.157 through 6.6.*Not affected
  • 6.12.110 through 6.12.*Not affected
  • 6.18.52 through 6.18.*Not affected
  • 7.2.6 through 7.2.*Not affected
  • 7.3 and laterNot affected

References

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