Linux Kernel up to 7.2-rc3 Vgic vgic_prune_ap_list race condition

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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CTI Interest Score
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8.4$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.2-rc3 and classified as very critical. Affected by this issue is the function vgic_prune_ap_list of the component Vgic. Executing a manipulation can lead to race condition. This vulnerability appears as CVE-2026-72289. The attack requires local access. There is no available exploit.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.2-rc3. It has been declared as very critical. This vulnerability affects the function vgic_prune_ap_list of the component Vgic. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a race condition vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-362. The product contains a code sequence that can run concurrently with other code, and the code sequence requires temporary, exclusive access to a shared resource, but a timing window exists in which the shared resource can be modified by another code sequence that is operating concurrently. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: arm64: vgic: Check the interrupt is still ours before migrating it vgic_prune_ap_list() drops both ap_list_lock and irq_lock while migrating an interrupt to another vCPU. After reacquiring the locks it only checks that the affinity is unchanged (target_vcpu == vgic_target_oracle(irq)) before moving the interrupt, which assumes that an interrupt whose affinity is preserved is still queued on this vCPU's ap_list. That assumption no longer holds if the interrupt is taken off the ap_list while the locks are dropped. vgic_flush_pending_lpis() removes the interrupt from the list and sets irq->vcpu to NULL, but leaves enabled/pending/target_vcpu untouched. As the interrupt is still enabled and pending, vgic_target_oracle() returns the same target_vcpu, so the affinity check passes and list_del() is run a second time on an entry that has already been removed. Also check that the interrupt is still assigned to this vCPU (irq->vcpu == vcpu) before moving it.

The advisory is shared for download at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-72289 since 08/09/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack needs to be approached locally. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $0-$5k (estimation calculated on 08/15/2026).

Upgrading to version 5.10.261, 5.15.212, 6.1.178, 6.6.145, 6.12.97, 6.18.40, 7.1.5 or 7.2-rc4 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 3893e1fcf6f306b327a8358dcd1cbd077989a240/cb3efe1a354f1638726725c3ecee1ce8d1a7e2dc/da2d249a39a1881681c303ceea33f38ba1c5bbeb/654be81c4c637af12709d47c7efc3302cd336513/e363c0bc0226dc5ea5046a88e9a6864b82c45399/79fdd2aa774e44847cd9bb7edc811e73e3dc7bfe/0658b09cba7fe866c6cd70cd2dcdfdcabe80328f/0074b82cdfcb5fd13710a0ac308ade68ac6f6fbe is able to eliminate this problem.

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Productinfo

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CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 8.8
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 8.4

VulDB Base Score: 8.8
VulDB Temp Score: 8.4
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
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VectorComplexityAuthenticationConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Race condition
CWE: CWE-362
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: No

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined
Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

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Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 5.10.261/5.15.212/6.1.178/6.6.145/6.12.97/6.18.40/7.1.5/7.2-rc4
Patch: 3893e1fcf6f306b327a8358dcd1cbd077989a240/cb3efe1a354f1638726725c3ecee1ce8d1a7e2dc/da2d249a39a1881681c303ceea33f38ba1c5bbeb/654be81c4c637af12709d47c7efc3302cd336513/e363c0bc0226dc5ea5046a88e9a6864b82c45399/79fdd2aa774e44847cd9bb7edc811e73e3dc7bfe/0658b09cba7fe866c6cd70cd2dcdfdcabe80328f/0074b82cdfcb5fd13710a0ac308ade68ac6f6fbe

Timelineinfo

08/09/2026 CVE reserved
08/15/2026 +6 days Advisory disclosed
08/15/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
08/15/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-72289 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-72289
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-390688

Entryinfo

Created: 08/15/2026 14:01
Changes: 08/15/2026 14:01 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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