CVE-2026-90241 iommu/vt-d: Tear down scalable-mode context on probe failure
A use-after-free in the Linux kernel IOMMU driver allows attackers to cause denial of service or execute code via crafted PCI device probing.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- An administrator
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-90241?
CVE-2026-90241 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 17 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:
iommu/vt-d: Tear down scalable-mode context on probe failure
intel_pasid_setup_sm_context() walks a PCI device’s DMA aliases via pci_for_each_dma_alias() and programs a scalable-mode context entry for each RID. For a device with a dma_alias_mask, the callback is invoked once for the device’s own RID and once for each alias bit, all with the same pci_dev, so device_pasid_table_setup() runs for multiple RIDs.
pci_for_each_dma_alias() stops at the first callback error. Therefore, a failure partway through the walk can leave context entries for already processed RIDs present and still pointing to the device’s PASID table.
On this error path, intel_iommu_probe_device() currently jumps directly to intel_pasid_free_table(), which frees the PASID table without first tearing down those context entries. The IOMMU may then walk a present context entry whose PASID table pointer references freed memory.
intel_iommu_release_device() already performs teardown before freeing the table. Apply the same ordering on the probe failure path.
device_pasid_table_teardown() safely handles RIDs that were never programmed: iommu_context_addr() returns NULL when no context table has been allocated, and clearing the Present bit of an already non-present entry is a no-op. So unwind is safe for both the alias that failed and any aliases not yet reached.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-90241?
How do I fix CVE-2026-90241?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. These bugs are found with fuzzing and sanitisers and avoided by memory-safe languages. More about Use after free.
Is CVE-2026-90241 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-90241 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-90241, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-90241, GHSA-pxrf-9x6q-c744, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-90241.