CVE-2026-53360: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: SEV: Require in-GHCB scratch area if GHCB v2+ is in use As per the GHCB spec, when using GHCB v2+ require
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
KVM: SEV: Require in-GHCB scratch area if GHCB v2+ is in use
As per the GHCB spec, when using GHCB v2+ require the software scratch area
to reside in the GHCB's shared buffer. Note, things like Page State Change
(PSC) requests _rely_ on this behavior, as the guest can't provide a length
when making the request, i.e. the size of the guest payload is bounded by
the size of the shared buffer.
Failure to force usage of the GHCB, and a slew of other flaws, lets a
malicious SNP guest corrupt host kernel heap memory, and leak host heap
layout information.
setup_vmgexit_scratch() allocates a buffer via kvzalloc(exit_info_2),
where exit_info_2 is guest-controlled. With exit_info_2=24, this yields
a 24-byte allocation in kmalloc-cg-32 (32-byte slab objects). The buffer
holds an 8-byte psc_hdr followed by 8-byte psc_entry structs, so only
entries[0] and entries[1] are in-bounds.
snp_begin_psc() validates end_entry against VMGEXIT_PSC_MAX_COUNT (253)
but NOT against the actual buffer size:
idx_end = hdr->end_entry;
if (idx_end >= VMGEXIT_PSC_MAX_COUNT) { // checks 253, not buffer
snp_complete_psc(svm, ...);
return 1;
}
for (idx = idx_start; idx <= idx_end; idx++) {
entry_start = entries[idx]; // OOB when idx >= 2
The guest sets end_entry=10+, causing the host to iterate entries[2+]
which are OOB into adjacent slab objects. For each OOB entry:
- The host reads 8 bytes (OOB READ / info leak oracle)
- If the data passes PSC validation, __snp_complete_one_psc() writes
cur_page = 1 or 512 into the entry (OOB WRITE, sev.c:3806)
- If validation fails, the error response reveals whether adjacent
memory is zero vs non-zero (information disclosure to guest)
The guest controls allocation size (exit_info_2), entry range
(cur_entry/end_entry), and can fire unlimited VMGEXITs to repeatedly
hit different slab positions.
By exploiting
Details
Original advisory: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53360
Exploitation outlook
EPSS (FIRST.org) estimates each CVE’s probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — here is the CSIRTS.com read on those numbers.
- Low exploitation riskCVE-2026-533600.27% 30-day exploitation probability — currently an unlikely target, but scores change as exploit code circulates. Riskier than 18% of all scored CVEs.
Referenced CVEs
| CVE | CSIRTS overview | External |
|---|---|---|
| CVE-2026-53360 | coverage & exploitation status | NVD · CVE.org |
Same CVEs, other sources
How other CERTs, PSIRTs and databases cover the vulnerabilities in this advisory.
- medium[NEW] [medium] Linux Kernel: Multiple vulnerabilitiescert-bund
Recent advisories for In the Linux
A cluster of recent advisories against the same product widens the attack surface — attackers routinely chain freshly published CVEs on one product, so review these together.
- highCVE-2026-53657: Lima launches Linux virtual machines, typically on macOS, for running containerd. Prior to 2.1…nvd · 2026-07-10
- unknownCVE-2026-53363: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xfrm: iptfs: preserve shar…nvd · 2026-07-10
- medium[UPDATE] [medium] Linux Kernel: Multiple vulnerabilities allow denial of servicecert-bund · 2026-07-10
- medium[UPDATE] [medium] Linux Kernel: Multiple vulnerabilities allow unspecified attackcert-bund · 2026-07-10
- medium[UPDATE] [medium] Linux Kernel: Multiple vulnerabilities allow denial of servicecert-bund · 2026-07-10
- high[UPDATE] [high] Linux Kernel: Multiple vulnerabilitiescert-bund · 2026-07-10
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