Linux Kernel up to 6.12.110/6.18.52/7.2.6/7.3-rc2 vhost-vdpa drivers/vhost/vdpa.c vhost_vdpa_set_config_call fd race condition

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.
9.5	$0-$5k	0.16+

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as very critical, was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.110/6.18.52/7.2.6/7.3-rc2. This vulnerability affects the function vhost_vdpa_set_config_call of the file drivers/vhost/vdpa.c of the component vhost-vdpa. The manipulation of the argument fd results in race condition. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-97993. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. No exploit is available. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as very critical, was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.110/6.18.52/7.2.6/7.3-rc2. Affected is the function vhost_vdpa_set_config_call of the file drivers/vhost/vdpa.c of the component vhost-vdpa. The manipulation of the argument fd with an unknown input leads to a race condition vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as 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. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vhost-vdpa: don't install the eventfd_ctx_fdget() error in config_ctx vhost_vdpa_set_config_call() swaps the eventfd_ctx_fdget() return value into v->config_ctx before checking it, so on failure the field briefly holds an ERR_PTR: ctx = fd == VHOST_FILE_UNBIND ? NULL : eventfd_ctx_fdget(fd); swap(ctx, v->config_ctx); if (!IS_ERR_OR_NULL(ctx)) eventfd_ctx_put(ctx); if (IS_ERR(v->config_ctx)) { long ret = PTR_ERR(v->config_ctx); v->config_ctx = NULL; return ret; } Commit 0bde59c1723a ("vhost-vdpa: set v->config_ctx to NULL if eventfd_ctx_fdget() fails") added that clearing, and spelled out the invariant the rest of the file relies on: "we consider 'v->config_ctx' valid if it is not NULL". The window between the swap and the clearing still breaks it. vhost_vdpa_config_cb() only tests for NULL, so a config interrupt delivered inside the window hands the ERR_PTR to eventfd_signal(). Check the fd before installing it instead. That closes the window and matches how vhost_vring_ioctl() handles the same failure for the vq call fd. It also stops a rejected fd from tearing down a config interrupt that was working: until now the swap replaced the live context and put it, so after an EBADF the device silently stopped delivering config interrupts until userspace installed a new fd.

The advisory is shared for download at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2026-97993 since 09/25/2026. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. 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 09/25/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.12.111, 6.18.53, 7.2.7 or 7.3-rc3 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 388c678639a0cebfd936b3e56c64ac6a371efec2/65faf9eaa00e408e1406fbcf675c8c8d0e27ff2a/6b20b40f020bde236f6b8a08ff88d8653261ec2b/e74a9fa50749b9940b4fb13199652325e08d3c4a is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.12.110
• 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
• 6.18.52
• 7.2.0
• 7.2.1
• 7.2.2
• 7.2.3
• 7.2.4
• 7.2.5
• 7.2.6
• 7.3-rc1
• 7.3-rc2

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: 9.9
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 9.5

VulDB Base Score: 9.9
VulDB Temp Score: 9.5
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: Race condition
CWE: CWE-362
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 6.12.111/6.18.53/7.2.7/7.3-rc3
Patch: 388c678639a0cebfd936b3e56c64ac6a371efec2/65faf9eaa00e408e1406fbcf675c8c8d0e27ff2a/6b20b40f020bde236f6b8a08ff88d8653261ec2b/e74a9fa50749b9940b4fb13199652325e08d3c4a

Timelineinfo

09/25/2026 Advisory disclosed
09/25/2026 +0 days CVE reserved
09/25/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
09/25/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-97993 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-97993
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-410160

Entryinfo

Created: 09/25/2026 15:13
Changes: 09/25/2026 15:13 (61)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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Discussion

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