Linux Kernel up to 7.2.9/7.3-rc5 Vgic vgic_prune_ap_list race condition

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability categorized as very critical has been discovered in Linux Kernel up to 7.2.9/7.3-rc5. Affected by this vulnerability is the function vgic_prune_ap_list of the component Vgic. Such manipulation leads to race condition. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-98712. The attack can be launched remotely. No exploit exists. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.2.9/7.3-rc5. It has been rated as very critical. Affected by this issue is the function vgic_prune_ap_list of the component Vgic. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a race condition vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to 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. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: arm64: vgic: Take a refcount on IRQs referenced by last_lr_irq Referencing the last interrupt inserted in an LR is rather fragile, as this interrupt can vanish if a concurrently unmapped LPI. Solve this by bumping up the refcount on the interrupt when populating last_lr_irq, and drop it at vgic_prune_ap_list() time, when LPIs are being reclaimed.

The advisory is available at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2026-98712 since 09/25/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be launched remotely. Additional levels of successful authentication are required for exploitation. Technical details are known, but there is no available exploit. The structure of the vulnerability defines a possible price range of USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 10/18/2026).

Upgrading to version 7.2.10 or 7.3-rc6 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 8b25393d16a5ca8df907bd7ee1ff2e9d85678b3c/19bc5d79ece613f242b5ec03921a3b465321bfed 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

• 7.2.0
• 7.2.1
• 7.2.2
• 7.2.3
• 7.2.4
• 7.2.5
• 7.2.6
• 7.2.7
• 7.2.8
• 7.2.9
• 7.3-rc1
• 7.3-rc2
• 7.3-rc3
• 7.3-rc4
• 7.3-rc5

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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