ZeroHour

CVE-2026-89960

niche

Use-after-free in Linux kernel s390 vfio-ap driver via stale pqap_hook pointer

CVSS 3.1
8.8 high
EPSS
Published
()
Modified
AI analysis

The Linux kernel's s390 vfio-ap driver (crypto adapter passthrough for KVM on IBM Z) sets kvm->arch.crypto.pqap_hook before checking whether the mediated device's KVM instance is already claimed by another mdev; when vfio_ap_mdev_set_kvm() then fails with -EPERM, the hook pointer is never restored and the failing matrix_mdev's kvm field is never set, so cleanup cannot undo it. If that matrix_mdev is subsequently closed and freed, a guest executing a PQAP instruction dereferences the stale hook pointer through pqap_hook_rwsem, causing a use-after-free in the host kernel. A privileged local attacker inside an s390 KVM guest that uses vfio-ap crypto mediated devices could corrupt host kernel memory (CVSS scope-changed, with high confidentiality, integrity and availability impact), potentially crashing the host or escalating guest-to-host privileges. Only s390x (IBM Z) Linux hosts running KVM guests with vfio-ap mediated crypto devices are affected. There is no known exploitation, no public proof-of-concept, and the issue is not listed in CISA KEV.

What to do: Track and deploy the mainline/stable kernel commit that fixes vfio_ap_mdev_set_kvm() (and the associated pqap_hook_rwsem locking rework) as it is backported into your distribution's IBM Z kernels (e.g., Red Hat, SUSE, Ubuntu on Z). Until patched, restrict vfio-ap mediated-device usage to a single mdev per KVM instance and avoid closing/freeing matrix_mdevs after a failed attach, and check vendor advisories for the fixed kernel version applicable to your s390 platform.

Affected
Linux kernel s390/vfio-ap driver (IBM Z KVM crypto adapter virtualization)
Estimated exposure
nicheplausibly only thousands to tens of thousands of IBM Z KVM hosts, and in practice a smaller subset running vfio-AP crypto passthrough — The flaw exists only in the s390x-specific vfio-ap driver and requires KVM guests using crypto adapter mediated devices, limiting it to a small fraction of IBM Z mainframe deployments; no public scan or install-count data exists for this…

Order-of-magnitude estimate by the model from install counts, market share and public scan data it knows; verify before quoting.

Description

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.

Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

In the news

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