CVE-2026-89960
s390/vfio-ap: fix stale pqap_hook pointer on error in vfio_ap_mdev_set_kvm()
- State
- Published
- Severity
- 8.8 High
- Published
- Sep 16, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 30, 2026
- Reserved
- Sep 11, 2026
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
s390/vfio-ap: fix stale pqap_hook pointer on error in vfio_ap_mdev_set_kvm()
In vfio_ap_mdev_set_kvm(), kvm->arch.crypto.pqap_hook is set to &matrix_mdev->pqap_hook before the update locks are acquired and the mdev list is checked for a conflicting assignment. If another mdev is already attached to the same KVM instance, the function returns -EPERM without restoring the hook pointer, leaving kvm->arch.crypto.pqap_hook pointing at the failing matrix_mdev instead of the mdev that legitimately owns the KVM.
Since matrix_mdev->kvm is never set on this error path, vfio_ap_mdev_unset_kvm() will not clean up the hook when matrix_mdev is later closed. If matrix_mdev is subsequently freed, any PQAP instruction executed by the guest will dereference the stale pointer through pqap_hook_rwsem, resulting in a use-after-free.
Since kvm->arch.crypto.pqap_hook is only set in the vfio_ap_mdev_set_kvm() function and is cleared in the vfio_ap_mdev_unset_kvm() function, a check for 'kvm->arch.crypto.pqap_hook != NULL' is all that is needed to determine whether it belongs to another mdev. This will alleviate the need to iterate the matrix_dev->mdev_list list to see if the kvm object is assigned to another mdev.This was introduced in v3 to alleviate the need to take the mdevs_lock while iterating the list; however, this did not prevent a potential race condition.
The pqap_hook_rwsem(write) is now performed inside get_update_locks_for_kvm(), which is updated to acquire pqap_hook_rwsem(write) between kvm->lock and mdevs_lock. This ordering is consistent with the PQAP intercept path, which acquires pqap_hook_rwsem in read mode while srcu is held under vcpu->mutex, establishing the dependency: kvm->lock -> vcpu->mutex -> srcu -> pqap_hook_rwsem(read).
The pqap_hook_rwsem is now released inside the release_update_locks_for_kvm(), which is updated to release pqap_hook_rwsem(write) between mdevs_lock and kvm->lock.
Additionally, kvm_put_kvm() in vfio_ap_mdev_unset_kvm() is moved after release_update_locks_for_kvm(). Previously it was called while kvm->lock was held; if it were ever the last reference, kvm_destroy_vm() would run under kvm->lock, which would deadlock.
Scores
| CVSS | Score | Vector | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | 8.8 High | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H | Linux |
Weaknesses
The record names no weakness.
Affected Products
| Product | Versions |
|---|---|
LinuxLinux |
|
LinuxLinux |
|
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d6b7b166d5310fa3e4d5802c4177a0264d9140bd
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/eb6cc898501a004c0fa8aab951351d9c959b91cc
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6a180adafc2a8a5fbe815985c71b2201e93ab5e1
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fc069d00a0dbef40042fd681554d48dcd5a1d524
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/13bfc94eef389bd664ffc67b00184919902c938a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4400270ec0348d05dc0439d8f0130853ce7f9e20
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