Linux Kernel up to 7.2.8/7.3-rc4 KVM kvm_s390_set_irq_state race condition

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability categorized as very critical has been discovered in Linux Kernel up to 7.2.8/7.3-rc4. Affected by this vulnerability is the function kvm_s390_set_irq_state of the component KVM. The manipulation results in race condition. This vulnerability is identified as CVE-2026-98652. The attack can be executed remotely. There is not any exploit available. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as very critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 7.2.8/7.3-rc4. Affected is the function kvm_s390_set_irq_state of the component KVM. The manipulation 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: KVM: s390: Add missing srcu in kvm_s390_set_irq_state() Like kvm_s390_inject_vcpu(), kvm_s390_set_irq_state() also needs the kvm->srcu or the slots lock when performing the Store status operation. Fix by taking kvm->srcu in kvm_s390_set_irq_state().

The advisory is shared for download at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2026-98652 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 10/18/2026).

Upgrading to version 7.2.9 or 7.3-rc5 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 7a33007b95c8908ae3980eb2b4c508f8936766df/f3a557067d57ce6ae98d485c8009b223e16f5f36 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
• 7.3-rc1
• 7.3-rc2
• 7.3-rc3
• 7.3-rc4

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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