Linux Kernel up to 6.18.52/7.2.6/7.3-rc2 IOMMU AMD iommu_init_ga_log memory leak

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.
8.4	$0-$5k	0.00+

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.52/7.2.6/7.3-rc2. It has been classified as very critical. This impacts the function iommu_init_ga_log of the component IOMMU AMD. The manipulation leads to memory leak. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-98003. Local access is required to approach this attack. No exploit exists. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as very critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.52/7.2.6/7.3-rc2. This issue affects the function iommu_init_ga_log of the component IOMMU AMD. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a memory leak vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-401. The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, which slowly consumes remaining memory. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: iommu/amd: Do not reallocate GA log buffers on resume Commit c5e1a1eb9279 ("iommu/amd: Simplify and Consolidate Virtual APIC (AVIC) Enablement") moved the GA log allocation from iommu_init_pci() to enable_iommus_vapic(), which is called on every resume. iommu_init_ga_log() assigns iommu->ga_log and iommu->ga_log_tail unconditionally. Each resume therefore replaces the boot-time pointers and leaks both old allocations. The function also uses GFP_KERNEL from a syscore resume callback, where interrupts are disabled and the non-boot CPUs are offline. Return early if both buffers are already allocated. Clear the pointers in free_ga_log() so a partial allocation failure cannot leave ga_log dangling.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-98003 since 09/25/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. An attack has to be approached locally. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 09/25/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.18.53, 7.2.7 or 7.3-rc3 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 94458b80d3b203c1c9e2c98aa7319b7713e006c0/b6be275d19cee01f8f1f08a2ff18337103d05d40/00a7dd64888d6dd72110b40e2824a088cf7b7386 is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

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
• 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: 8.8
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 8.4

VulDB Base Score: 8.8
VulDB Temp Score: 8.4
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: Memory leak
CWE: CWE-401 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: No

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 6.18.53/7.2.7/7.3-rc3
Patch: 94458b80d3b203c1c9e2c98aa7319b7713e006c0/b6be275d19cee01f8f1f08a2ff18337103d05d40/00a7dd64888d6dd72110b40e2824a088cf7b7386

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-2026-98003 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-98003
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-410177

Entryinfo

Created: 09/25/2026 15:23
Changes: 09/25/2026 15:23 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Discussion

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