Linux Kernel up to 6.18.51/7.2.4 KVM privileges management

| CVSS Meta Temp Score | Current Exploit Price (≈) | CTI Interest Score |
|---|---|---|
| 9.5 | $5k-$25k | 0.00 |
Summary
A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.51/7.2.4. It has been declared as very critical. This affects an unknown function of the component KVM. Executing a manipulation can lead to privileges management. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-89915. The attack may be launched remotely. There is no exploit available. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.
Details
A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.51/7.2.4. It has been declared as very critical. This vulnerability affects some unknown processing of the component KVM. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a privileges management vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-269. The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor. 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: Remove VM-wide VNCR mapping counter The global VNCR mapping counter is used to decide whether an L1 provided VNCR page is mapped in L0 on any CPU at the point of dealing with a TLB invalidation. It is incremented when a mapping is made in the fixmap, and decremented when unmapped. As it turns out, this tracking has several flaws: - we are trying to invalidate TLBs, and the mapping is only an opportunistic consequence of the TLB. Checking this counter to decide whether a TLB needs to be invalidated may result in missed invalidations. - an L1 vcpu invalidating its own TLB (a very likely case) will not succeed in invalidating the VNCR pseudo TLB because that page is not mapped in L0 at this stage. Given that this tracking fails at delivering the minimum guarantees that are required and is only a performance optimisation, remove it completely.
The advisory is available at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-89915 since 09/11/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be initiated remotely. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not available. The structure of the vulnerability defines a possible price range of USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 09/16/2026). This vulnerability is assigned to T1068 by the MITRE ATT&CK project.
Upgrading to version 6.18.52, 7.2.5 or 7.3-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 5453b85c7ebb605febac3df42021f9471663f051/87c2bbf189829dce4aaada8f82e3d54ccc037976/c55bc773b6e814406658fae7dc5c15f639ed816e is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Product
Type
Vendor
Name
Version
- 6.18.0
- 6.18.1
- 6.18.2
- 6.18.3
- 6.18.4
- 6.18.5
- 6.18.6
- 6.18.7
- 6.18.8
- 6.18.9
- 6.18.10
- 6.18.11
- 6.18.12
- 6.18.13
- 6.18.14
- 6.18.15
- 6.18.16
- 6.18.17
- 6.18.18
- 6.18.19
- 6.18.20
- 6.18.21
- 6.18.22
- 6.18.23
- 6.18.24
- 6.18.25
- 6.18.26
- 6.18.27
- 6.18.28
- 6.18.29
- 6.18.30
- 6.18.31
- 6.18.32
- 6.18.33
- 6.18.34
- 6.18.35
- 6.18.36
- 6.18.37
- 6.18.38
- 6.18.39
- 6.18.40
- 6.18.41
- 6.18.42
- 6.18.43
- 6.18.44
- 6.18.45
- 6.18.46
- 6.18.47
- 6.18.48
- 6.18.49
- 6.18.50
- 6.18.51
- 7.2.0
- 7.2.1
- 7.2.2
- 7.2.3
- 7.2.4
License
Website
- Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/
CPE 2.3
CPE 2.2
CVSSv4
VulDB Vector: 🔒VulDB Reliability: 🔍
CVSSv3
VulDB Meta Base Score: 9.9VulDB Meta Temp Score: 9.5
VulDB Base Score: 9.9
VulDB Temp Score: 9.5
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍
CVSSv2
| AV | AC | Au | C | I | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 💳 | 💳 | 💳 | 💳 | 💳 | 💳 |
| 💳 | 💳 | 💳 | 💳 | 💳 | 💳 |
| 💳 | 💳 | 💳 | 💳 | 💳 | 💳 |
| Vector | Complexity | Authentication | Confidentiality | Integrity | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock |
| Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock |
| Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock |
VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍
Exploiting
Class: Privileges managementCWE: CWE-269 / CWE-266
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒
Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes
Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined
EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒
Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒
| 0-Day | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock |
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| Today | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock | Unlock |
Threat Intelligence
Interest: 🔍Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍
Countermeasures
Recommended: UpgradeStatus: 🔍
0-Day Time: 🔒
Upgrade: Kernel 6.18.52/7.2.5/7.3-rc1
Patch: 5453b85c7ebb605febac3df42021f9471663f051/87c2bbf189829dce4aaada8f82e3d54ccc037976/c55bc773b6e814406658fae7dc5c15f639ed816e
Timeline
09/11/2026 CVE reserved09/16/2026 Advisory disclosed
09/16/2026 VulDB entry created
09/16/2026 VulDB entry last update
Sources
Vendor: kernel.orgAdvisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed
CVE: CVE-2026-89915 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-89915
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-405754
Entry
Created: 09/16/2026 14:32Changes: 09/16/2026 14:32 (58)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
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