# 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.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 9 Jun 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **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

## 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.

Weakness: CWE-911 (Improper Update of Reference Count), CWE-362 (Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-46316?

It affects 1 product.


Products: 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:

- Tracking ITScape (CVE-2026-46316), the KVM/arm64 guest-to-host escape (github_poc): https://github.com/suominen/itscape

## 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-2026-46316 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-46316 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-2026-46316/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-46316/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-46316
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-46316
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-46316

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-46316/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.