# CVE-2026-45945: iommu/vt-d: Fix race condition during PASID entry replacement

> A race condition in the Linux kernel's Intel VT-d driver can cause inconsistent IOMMU states, leading to spurious faults and potential denial of service.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/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 May 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-45945, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-45945, GHSA-3f6r-v6w8-rw99, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45945

## What is CVE-2026-45945?

CVE-2026-45945 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 May 2026. 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:

iommu/vt-d: Fix race condition during PASID entry replacement

The Intel VT-d PASID table entry is 512 bits (64 bytes). When replacing
an active PASID entry (e.g., during domain replacement), the current
implementation calculates a new entry on the stack and copies it to the
table using a single structure assignment.

        struct pasid_entry *pte, new_pte;

        pte = intel_pasid_get_entry(dev, pasid);
        pasid_pte_config_first_level(iommu, &new_pte, ...);
        *pte = new_pte;

Because the hardware may fetch the 512-bit PASID entry in multiple
128-bit chunks, updating the entire entry while it is active (Present
bit set) risks a "torn" read. In this scenario, the IOMMU hardware
could observe an inconsistent state — partially new data and partially
old data — leading to unpredictable behavior or spurious faults.

Fix this by removing the unsafe "replace" helpers and following the
"clear-then-update" flow, which ensures the Present bit is cleared and
the required invalidation handshake is completed before the new
configuration is applied.

Weakness: CWE-362 (Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-45945?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-45945?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-45945 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-45945 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-2026-45945 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-45945 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 May 2026. 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-2026-45945 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-2026-45945/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-45945/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-45945
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-45945
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-45945

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-45945/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.