# CVE-2026-80895: mshv: Order pt_vp_array publish against irqfd assertion path

> A race condition in the Linux kernel mshv driver allows local attackers to exploit partially initialized memory structures, potentially leading to code execution or privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **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:** 4 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 4 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-80895, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-80895, GHSA-8532-xhgq-93cj, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-80895

## What is CVE-2026-80895?

CVE-2026-80895 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 4 Sep 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:

mshv: Order pt_vp_array publish against irqfd assertion path

mshv_partition_ioctl_create_vp() initialises a VP struct (allocations,
mutex_init, init_waitqueue_head, page mappings) and then publishes the
pointer into partition->pt_vp_array.  Several ISR paths read this array
locklessly: the intercept ISR, the two scheduler ISRs, and
mshv_try_assert_irq_fast() on the irqfd fast path.

Of these, only mshv_try_assert_irq_fast() can structurally race the
publish.  It runs from an eventfd waker without holding pt_mutex, and
MSHV_IRQFD does not require the target lapic_apic_id (== vp_index) to
refer to an existing VP at registration time.  A user can therefore
register an irqfd targeting a yet-to-be-created VP, then trigger
mshv_try_assert_irq_fast() concurrently with MSHV_CREATE_VP for the
same index.  On weakly-ordered architectures the reader can observe a
non-NULL pointer in pt_vp_array before the initialising stores to the
VP struct become visible, leading to use of partially-initialised
fields (e.g. vp_register_page).

The other ISR readers cannot reach this race: the hypervisor will not
generate intercept or scheduler messages for a VP that has never been
told to run, and the user can only call MSHV_RUN_VP on the VP fd
returned by MSHV_CREATE_VP, which by construction is returned after
the publish.  Leave those readers as plain loads.

Use smp_store_release() in mshv_partition_ioctl_create_vp() to publish
the pointer, and pair it with smp_load_acquire() in
mshv_try_assert_irq_fast().  On x86 these compile to plain accesses
under TSO; on ARM64 they emit one-instruction acquire/release barriers,
acceptable on this fast path.

The destroy-side path (destroy_partition() clearing pt_vp_array[i] to
NULL after kfree(vp)) has a separate ordering and lifetime concern
that is out of scope here.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-80895?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-80895?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-80895 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-80895 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-80895 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-80895 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 4 Sep 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-2026-80895 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. 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-2026-80895/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-80895/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-80895
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-80895
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-80895

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-80895/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.