CVE-2026-89958 s390/vfio-ap: Fix dereference matrix_mdev->kvm without checking for NULL
A local attacker can cause a denial of service in the Linux kernel by triggering a NULL pointer dereference in the s390/vfio-ap driver.
- 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
What is CVE-2026-89958?
CVE-2026-89958 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 16 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:
s390/vfio-ap: Fix dereference matrix_mdev->kvm without checking for NULL
The ap_driver structure has two fields which are function pointers to callbacks:
* .on_config_changed: called at the start of the AP bus scan function to notify the device driver that the host AP configuration has changed and the associated AP devices will be added or removed accordingly. This gives the implementor a chance to evaluate the configuration changes and respond to them before the associated devices are added or removed.
* .on_scan_complete: Called at the end of the AP bus scan function to notify the device driver that the host AP configuration has changed and the AP devices have been added or removed accordingly. This gives the implementor the opportunity to respond to the changes after the associated devices are added or removed.
These two callbacks are implemented in the vfio_ap device driver via the vfio_ap_on_cfg_changed and vfio_ap_on_scan_complete functions respectively.
Within the call stack of these two callback functions the matrix_mdev->kvm->lock mutex is taken without checking whether matrix_mdev->kvm is NULL or not. If matrix_mdev->kvm has never been set, trying to take the lock will trigger a NULL pointer dereference. This patch adds checks for matrix_mdev->kvm == NULL before taking the matrix_mdev->kvm->lock mutex.
Note that the matrix_mdev->kvm->lock mutex taken in the vfio_ap_mdev_hot_plug_config function is moved to the calling function along with the matrix_dev->mdevs_lock which is needed there to access the fields of the matrix_mdev. It makes little sense to make the change the check for matrix_mdev->kvm there before taking the kvm->lock mutex only to have to move it out via another patch, so it is done in this patch.
It is important to make note of the following: 1. The matrix_dev->guests_lock is acquired at the start of both callback functions. This ensures that matrix_mdev will not be removed via the vfio_ap_mdev_remove function because it too takes matrix_dev_guests_lock before removing the object; so, matrix_mdev will be available for the duration of the callback functions.
2. The matrix_dev->mdevs_lock mutex must be taken in order to access fields within the matrix_mdev structure
3. matrix_mdev->kvm->lock mutex must be taken before the matrix_dev->mdevs_lock to prevent a lockdep splat.
4: The kvm->lock must be held while plugging the guest's AP configuration into its SIE state description via the vfio_ap_mdev_update_guest_apcb function.
5. The vfio_ap_mdev_update_guest_apcb checks matrix_mdev->kvm to verify it is not NULL before doing the hot plug of the guest's AP configuration.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-89958?
How do I fix CVE-2026-89958?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-89958 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-89958 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-101511, BELL-CVE-2026-89958, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-89958, GHSA-hgjh-2rgq-2xcv, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-89958.