CVE-2024-26991: KVM: x86/mmu: x86: Don't overflow lpage_info when checking attributes
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
KVM: x86/mmu: x86: Don't overflow lpage_info when checking attributes
Fix KVM_SET_MEMORY_ATTRIBUTES to not overflow lpage_info array and trigger
KASAN splat, as seen in the private_mem_conversions_test selftest.
When memory attributes are set on a GFN range, that range will have
specific properties applied to the TDP. A huge page cannot be used when
the attributes are inconsistent, so they are disabled for those the
specific huge pages. For internal KVM reasons, huge pages are also not
allowed to span adjacent memslots regardless of whether the backing memory
could be mapped as huge.
What GFNs support which huge page sizes is tracked by an array of arrays
'lpage_info' on the memslot, of ‘kvm_lpage_info’ structs. Each index of
lpage_info contains a vmalloc allocated array of these for a specific
supported page size. The kvm_lpage_info denotes whether a specific huge
page (GFN and page size) on the memslot is supported. These arrays include
indices for unaligned head and tail huge pages.
Preventing huge pages from spanning adjacent memslot is covered by
incrementing the count in head and tail kvm_lpage_info when the memslot is
allocated, but disallowing huge pages for memory that has mixed attributes
has to be done in a more complicated way. During the
KVM_SET_MEMORY_ATTRIBUTES ioctl KVM updates lpage_info for each memslot in
the range that has mismatched attributes. KVM does this a memslot at a
time, and marks a special bit, KVM_LPAGE_MIXED_FLAG, in the kvm_lpage_info
for any huge page. This bit is essentially a permanently elevated count.
So huge pages will not be mapped for the GFN at that page size if the
count is elevated in either case: a huge head or tail page unaligned to
the memslot or if KVM_LPAGE_MIXED_FLAG is set because it has mixed
attributes.
To determine whether a huge page has consistent attributes, the
KVM_SET_MEMORY_ATTRIBUTES operation checks an xarray to make sure it
consistently has the incoming attribute. Since level - 1 huge pages are
aligned to level huge pages, it employs an optimization. As long as the
level - 1 huge pages are checked first, it can just check these and assume
that if each level - 1 huge page contained within the level sized huge
page is not mixed, then the level size huge page is not mixed. This
optimization happens in the helper hugepage_has_attrs().
Unfortunately, although the kvm_lpage_info array representing page size
'level' will contain an entry for an unaligned tail page of size level,
the array for level - 1 will not contain an entry for each GFN at page
size level. The level - 1 array will only contain an index for any
unaligned region covered by level - 1 huge page size, which can be a
smaller region. So this causes the optimization to overflow the level - 1
kvm_lpage_info and perform a vmalloc out of bounds read.
In some cases of head and tail pages where an overflow could happen,
callers skip the operation completely as KVM_LPAGE_MIXED_FLAG is not
required to prevent huge pages as discussed earlier. But for memslots that
are smaller than the 1GB page size, it does call hugepage_has_attrs(). In
this case the huge page is both the head and tail page. The issue can be
observed simply by compiling the kernel with CONFIG_KASAN_VMALLOC and
running the selftest “private_mem_conversions_test”, which produces the
output like the following:
BUG: KASAN: vmalloc-out-of-bounds in hugepage_has_attrs+0x7e/0x110
Read of size 4 at addr ffffc900000a3008 by task private_mem_con/169
Call Trace:
dump_stack_lvl
print_report
? __virt_addr_valid
? hugepage_has_attrs
? hugepage_has_attrs
kasan_report
? hugepage_has_attrs
hugepage_has_attrs
kvm_arch_post_set_memory_attributes
kvm_vm_ioctl
It is a little ambiguous whether the unaligned head page (in the bug case
also the tail page) should be expected to have KVM_LPAGE_MIXED_FLAG set.
It is not functionally required, as the unal
---truncated---
Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2024-26991 is a Linux KVM bug where a local, low-privileged user can trigger an out-of-bounds vmalloc read in x86 memory-management handling. The documented impact is availability: a kernel crash or denial of service, not data theft or privilege escalation.
Executive priority
Treat this as a scheduled but important kernel update for virtualization infrastructure. It is not supported as actively exploited, but a local denial-of-service against KVM hosts can disrupt workloads and service availability.
Technical view
The flaw is in KVM x86 MMU handling for KVM_SET_MEMORY_ATTRIBUTES. When checking huge-page attributes, hugepage_has_attrs() can index beyond the level-1 lpage_info array for small or unaligned memslots, producing a KASAN vmalloc-out-of-bounds read.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most relevant to Linux systems running affected 6.8-series or 6.9 kernels with KVM on x86. Virtualization hosts and systems using KVM memory attributes deserve priority review. The bundle does not identify affected downstream products beyond Linux and Fedora advisories.
Exploitation context
The CVSS vector is local, low complexity, low privileges, no user interaction, with high availability impact. The source bundle says KEV is false and provides no cited evidence of active exploitation. Evidence shows reproduction through a kernel selftest with KASAN, not public weaponization.
Researcher notes
The central issue is an optimization assumption across huge-page levels that fails for smaller unaligned memslots. Sources describe a vmalloc out-of-bounds read observable in private_mem_conversions_test with CONFIG_KASAN_VMALLOC. Public evidence is strongest for root cause and fix, weaker for real-world exploitability.
Mitigation direction
Update affected Linux kernels using vendor-supported packages or stable kernels containing the referenced fixes.
Review Fedora or other distribution advisories for backported CVE-2024-26991 fixes.
Prioritize KVM x86 virtualization hosts before general-purpose Linux endpoints.
If no vendor fix is available, follow vendor guidance for temporary risk reduction.
Avoid testing kernel crash conditions on production hosts.
Validation and detection
Inventory Linux kernel versions across KVM-capable x86 hosts.
Confirm whether KVM is enabled and used for virtualization workloads.
Check vendor changelogs for CVE-2024-26991 or the referenced stable commits.
Validate patched kernels in staging before production rollout.
For research systems, reproduce only with non-production KASAN-enabled kernels and documented selftests.
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
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