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CVE Record

CVE-2026-23086: vsock/virtio: cap TX credit to local buffer size

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vsock/virtio: cap TX credit to local buffer size The virtio transports derives its TX credit directly from peer_buf_alloc, which is set from the remote endpoint's SO_VM_SOCKETS_BUFFER_SIZE value. On the host side this means that the amount of data we are willing to queue for a connection is scaled by a guest-chosen buffer size, rather than the host's own vsock configuration. A malicious guest can advertise a large buffer and read slowly, causing the host to allocate a correspondingly large amount of sk_buff memory. The same thing would happen in the guest with a malicious host, since virtio transports share the same code base. Introduce a small helper, virtio_transport_tx_buf_size(), that returns min(peer_buf_alloc, buf_alloc), and use it wherever we consume peer_buf_alloc. This ensures the effective TX window is bounded by both the peer's advertised buffer and our own buf_alloc (already clamped to buffer_max_size via SO_VM_SOCKETS_BUFFER_MAX_SIZE), so a remote peer cannot force the other to queue more data than allowed by its own vsock settings. On an unpatched Ubuntu 22.04 host (~64 GiB RAM), running a PoC with 32 guest vsock connections advertising 2 GiB each and reading slowly drove Slab/SUnreclaim from ~0.5 GiB to ~57 GiB; the system only recovered after killing the QEMU process. That said, if QEMU memory is limited with cgroups, the maximum memory used will be limited. With this patch applied: Before: MemFree: ~61.6 GiB Slab: ~142 MiB SUnreclaim: ~117 MiB After 32 high-credit connections: MemFree: ~61.5 GiB Slab: ~178 MiB SUnreclaim: ~152 MiB Only ~35 MiB increase in Slab/SUnreclaim, no host OOM, and the guest remains responsive. Compatibility with non-virtio transports: - VMCI uses the AF_VSOCK buffer knobs to size its queue pairs per socket based on the local vsk->buffer_* values; the remote side cannot enlarge those queues beyond what the local endpoint configured. - Hyper-V's vsock transport uses fixed-size VMBus ring buffers and an MTU bound; there is no peer-controlled credit field comparable to peer_buf_alloc, and the remote endpoint cannot drive in-flight kernel memory above those ring sizes. - The loopback path reuses virtio_transport_common.c, so it naturally follows the same semantics as the virtio transport. This change is limited to virtio_transport_common.c and thus affects virtio-vsock, vhost-vsock, and loopback, bringing them in line with the "remote window intersected with local policy" behaviour that VMCI and Hyper-V already effectively have. [Stefano: small adjustments after changing the previous patch] [Stefano: tweak the commit message]

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

A malicious virtual machine or host can make the other side retain excessive kernel memory through Linux virtio-vsock connections. Testing described in the CVE drove an unpatched 64 GiB Ubuntu host close to memory exhaustion. The likely business impact is service disruption or host instability, not data theft.

Executive priority

Treat this as a high-priority availability issue on virtualization infrastructure hosting untrusted workloads. Patch exposed systems promptly and apply QEMU memory limits as interim containment. Systems without the affected transports or hostile host-guest relationships are lower priority. There is no supplied evidence of active exploitation.

Technical view

Virtio transports trusted the peer-controlled peer_buf_alloc value as the transmit credit. A peer advertising a very large receive buffer while reading slowly could force excessive sk_buff allocation. The fix caps effective credit at the smaller of the peer-advertised value and the locally configured buffer allocation. It covers virtio-vsock, vhost-vsock, and loopback.

Likely exposure

Exposure is concentrated in Linux systems using virtio-vsock, vhost-vsock, or the shared loopback implementation across an untrusted host-guest boundary. Multi-tenant virtualization and environments running untrusted guests deserve priority. The supplied record identifies affected Linux versions, but its version data is insufficiently clear for reliable package-level decisions.

Exploitation context

The CVE describes a successful proof-of-concept causing severe host memory pressure with 32 slow-reading guest connections. KEV is false, and the supplied sources do not establish active exploitation in the wild. Exploitation requires control of the peer endpoint, such as a malicious guest against its host or a malicious host against its guest.

Researcher notes

The affected logic is limited to virtio_transport_common.c. The correction applies local policy by using min(peer_buf_alloc, buf_alloc). The source states VMCI already sizes queues locally and Hyper-V uses bounded ring buffers without comparable peer-controlled credit. Exact vulnerable and fixed distribution package versions require vendor confirmation.

Mitigation direction

  • Install a vendor kernel update containing the applicable upstream fix or backport.
  • Use cgroup memory limits for QEMU where immediate patching is unavailable.
  • Prioritize hosts running untrusted guests or exposing virtio-vsock across trust boundaries.
  • Consult distribution and appliance vendor guidance for exact fixed package versions.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory systems using virtio-vsock, vhost-vsock, or the shared loopback transport.
  • Confirm installed kernels contain the relevant fix commit or an identified vendor backport.
  • Verify QEMU memory limits on systems awaiting kernel updates.
  • Monitor slab and unreclaimable kernel memory for abnormal growth during vsock activity.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
8

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

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CVE-2026-23086 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
2ADP providers
7Source links

SSVC decision data

CISA-ADPCISA Coordinator
Timestamp
Version
2.0.3
Exploitation: noneAutomatable: noTechnical Impact: partial

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

ADP provider summaries

CISA-ADPCISA ADP Vulnrichment
other:ssvc
siemens-SADPADP container
Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinux06a8fc78367d070720af960dcecec917d3ae5f3b, 06a8fc78367d070720af960dcecec917d3ae5f3b, 06a8fc78367d070720af960dcecec917d3ae5f3b, 06a8fc78367d070720af960dcecec917d3ae5f3b, 06a8fc78367d070720af960dcecec917d3ae5f3bunaffected
LinuxLinux4.8, 0, 6.1.162, 6.6.122, 6.12.68, 6.18.8, 6.19affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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