# CVE-2026-46295: KVM: x86: Do IRR scan in __kvm_apic_update_irr even if PIR is empty

> A race condition in KVM x86 posted interrupt handling can cause a kernel warning and potential denial of service in nested virtualization scenarios.

- **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:** 8 Jun 2026
- **Updated:** 14 Jun 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-46295, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-46295, GHSA-q4rx-hj9c-j8vg, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46295

## What is CVE-2026-46295?

CVE-2026-46295 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 8 Jun 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:

KVM: x86: Do IRR scan in __kvm_apic_update_irr even if PIR is empty

Fall back to apic_find_highest_vector() when PID.ON is set but PIR
turns out to be empty, to correctly report the highest pending interrupt
from the existing IRR.

In a nested VM stress test, the following WARNING fires in
vmx_check_nested_events() when kvm_cpu_has_interrupt() reports a pending
interrupt but the subsequent kvm_apic_has_interrupt() (which invokes
vmx_sync_pir_to_irr() again) returns -1:

  WARNING: CPU: 99 PID: 57767 at arch/x86/kvm/vmx/nested.c:4449 vmx_check_nested_events+0x6bf/0x6e0 [kvm_intel]
  Call Trace:
   kvm_check_and_inject_events
   vcpu_enter_guest.constprop.0
   vcpu_run
   kvm_arch_vcpu_ioctl_run
   kvm_vcpu_ioctl
   __x64_sys_ioctl
   do_syscall_64
   entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe

The root cause is a race between vmx_sync_pir_to_irr() on the target vCPU
and __vmx_deliver_posted_interrupt() on a sender vCPU.  The sender
performs two individually-atomic operations that are not a single
transaction:

  1. pi_test_and_set_pir(vector)  -- sets the PIR bit
  2. pi_test_and_set_on()         -- sets PID.ON

The following interleaving triggers the bug:

  Sender vCPU (IPI):              Target vCPU (1st sync_pir_to_irr):
  B1: set PIR[vector]
                                  A1: pi_clear_on()
                                  A2: pi_harvest_pir() -> sees B1 bit
                                  A3: xchg() -> consumes bit, PIR=0
                                      (1st sync returns correct max_irr)
  B2: set PID.ON = 1

                                  Target vCPU (2nd sync_pir_to_irr):
                                  C1: pi_test_on() -> TRUE (from B2)
                                  C2: pi_clear_on() -> ON=0
                                  C3: pi_harvest_pir() -> PIR empty
                                  C4: *max_irr = -1, early return
                                      IRR NOT SCANNED

The interrupt is not lost (it resides in the IRR from the first sync and
is recovered on the next vcpu_enter_guest() iteration), but the incorrect
max_irr causes a spurious WARNING and a wasted L2 VM-Enter/VM-Exit cycle.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-46295?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-46295?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-46295 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-46295 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-2026-46295 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-46295 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 8 Jun 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-2026-46295 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-2026-46295/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-46295/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-46295
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-46295
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-46295

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-46295/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.