# CVE-2025-21779: KVM: x86: Reject Hyper-V's SEND_IPI hypercalls if local APIC isn't in-kernel

> A guest VM can trigger a kernel crash via Hyper-V hypercalls if the local APIC is not in-kernel, requiring specific KVM configurations.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 27 Feb 2025
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-57818, AZL-57959, BELL-CVE-2025-21779, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-21779, GHSA-mmj4-6ppp-mqr2, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-21779, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-21779

## What is CVE-2025-21779?

CVE-2025-21779 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 Feb 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

KVM: x86: Reject Hyper-V's SEND_IPI hypercalls if local APIC isn't in-kernel

Advertise support for Hyper-V's SEND_IPI and SEND_IPI_EX hypercalls if and
only if the local API is emulated/virtualized by KVM, and explicitly reject
said hypercalls if the local APIC is emulated in userspace, i.e. don't rely
on userspace to opt-in to KVM_CAP_HYPERV_ENFORCE_CPUID.

Rejecting SEND_IPI and SEND_IPI_EX fixes a NULL-pointer dereference if
Hyper-V enlightenments are exposed to the guest without an in-kernel local
APIC:

  dump_stack+0xbe/0xfd
  __kasan_report.cold+0x34/0x84
  kasan_report+0x3a/0x50
  __apic_accept_irq+0x3a/0x5c0
  kvm_hv_send_ipi.isra.0+0x34e/0x820
  kvm_hv_hypercall+0x8d9/0x9d0
  kvm_emulate_hypercall+0x506/0x7e0
  __vmx_handle_exit+0x283/0xb60
  vmx_handle_exit+0x1d/0xd0
  vcpu_enter_guest+0x16b0/0x24c0
  vcpu_run+0xc0/0x550
  kvm_arch_vcpu_ioctl_run+0x170/0x6d0
  kvm_vcpu_ioctl+0x413/0xb20
  __se_sys_ioctl+0x111/0x160
  do_syscal1_64+0x30/0x40
  entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x67/0xd1

Note, checking the sending vCPU is sufficient, as the per-VM irqchip_mode
can't be modified after vCPUs are created, i.e. if one vCPU has an
in-kernel local APIC, then all vCPUs have an in-kernel local APIC.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-21779?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-21779?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-21779 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-21779 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-21779 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-21779 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 Feb 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-21779 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-21779/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-21779/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-21779
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-21779
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-21779

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-21779/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.