CVE-2026-46316 KVM: arm64: vgic-its: Drop the translation cache reference only for the erased entry
A race condition in the Linux kernel's KVM arm64 vgic-its driver allows double-freeing of translation cache entries, potentially leading to code execution or privilege escalation.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-46316?
CVE-2026-46316 is a critical vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 9 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: arm64: vgic-its: Drop the translation cache reference only for the erased entry
vgic_its_invalidate_cache() walks the per-ITS translation cache with xa_for_each() and drops the cache's reference on each entry with vgic_put_irq(). It puts the iterated pointer, though, rather than the value returned by xa_erase().
The function is called from contexts that do not exclude one another: the ITS command handlers hold its_lock, the GITS_CTLR write path holds cmd_lock, and the path that clears EnableLPIs in a redistributor's GICR_CTLR holds neither. Two or more of them can drain the same cache concurrently, and if each one observes the same entry, erases it and then puts it, the single reference the cache holds on that entry is dropped more than once. The entry can then be freed while an ITE still maps it.
xa_erase() is atomic and returns the previous entry, so put only the entry that this context actually removed. The cache reference is then dropped exactly once per entry even when the invalidations run concurrently, and the behavior is unchanged when only one context runs.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-46316?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2026-46316?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-46316 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-46316 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Public exploit code: 1 proofs of concept on GitHub.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-46316, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-46316, GHSA-qcxh-2cm7-9fcc, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-46316, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46316.