Linux Kernel up to 6.6.156/6.12.109/6.18.50/7.2.4 s390-vfio-ap vfio_ap_mdev_set_kvm use after free

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
8.7	$5k-$25k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as very critical has been reported in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.156/6.12.109/6.18.50/7.2.4. This affects the function vfio_ap_mdev_set_kvm of the component s390-vfio-ap. This manipulation causes use after free. This vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2026-89960. The attack is possible to be carried out remotely. No exploit exists. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.156/6.12.109/6.18.50/7.2.4 and classified as very critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function vfio_ap_mdev_set_kvm of the component s390-vfio-ap. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

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.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-89960 since 09/11/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. Additional levels of successful authentication are required for exploitation. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 09/16/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.6.157, 6.12.110, 6.18.51, 7.2.5 or 7.3-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch eb6cc898501a004c0fa8aab951351d9c959b91cc/6a180adafc2a8a5fbe815985c71b2201e93ab5e1/fc069d00a0dbef40042fd681554d48dcd5a1d524/13bfc94eef389bd664ffc67b00184919902c938a/4400270ec0348d05dc0439d8f0130853ce7f9e20 is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.6.156
• 6.12.109
• 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
• 7.2.0
• 7.2.1
• 7.2.2
• 7.2.3
• 7.2.4

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 9.1
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 8.7

VulDB Base Score: 9.1
VulDB Temp Score: 8.7
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

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: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Use after free
CWE: CWE-416 / CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

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

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 6.6.157/6.12.110/6.18.51/7.2.5/7.3-rc1
Patch: eb6cc898501a004c0fa8aab951351d9c959b91cc/6a180adafc2a8a5fbe815985c71b2201e93ab5e1/fc069d00a0dbef40042fd681554d48dcd5a1d524/13bfc94eef389bd664ffc67b00184919902c938a/4400270ec0348d05dc0439d8f0130853ce7f9e20

Timelineinfo

09/11/2026 CVE reserved
09/16/2026 +5 days Advisory disclosed
09/16/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
09/16/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-89960 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-89960
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-405787

Entryinfo

Created: 09/16/2026 14:56
Changes: 09/16/2026 14:56 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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Discussion

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