CVE-2026-97478 virt: acrn: Fix irqfd use-after-free during eventfd shutdown
A race condition in the Linux kernel's ACRN virtualization driver allows a use-after-free, potentially enabling local attackers to execute code or escalate privileges.
- 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-2026-97478?
CVE-2026-97478 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 24 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:
virt: acrn: Fix irqfd use-after-free during eventfd shutdown
acrn_irqfd_deassign() and the eventfd EPOLLHUP wakeup can race and free the same struct hsm_irqfd:
CPU0 CPU1 ---- ---- eventfd_release() wake_up_poll(EPOLLHUP) hsm_irqfd_wakeup() queue_work(&irqfd->shutdown) acrn_irqfd_deassign() hsm_irqfd_shutdown() list_del_init() eventfd_ctx_remove_wait_queue() eventfd_ctx_put() kfree(irqfd) hsm_irqfd_shutdown_work() container_of(work, ..., shutdown) irqfd->vm <-- use-after-free
The deassign path freed the irqfd while a shutdown work item was already queued by EPOLLHUP (or vice versa), so the work item could resurrect a dangling pointer through container_of().
Switch to the lifetime model used by KVM irqfds:
- Deassign/deinit only deactivate the irqfd: remove it from vm->irqfds under irqfds_lock and queue the cleanup work. - hsm_irqfd_shutdown_work() becomes the sole owner that unhooks the eventfd waitqueue entry, drops the eventfd reference and frees the irqfd. - A new HSM_IRQFD_FLAG_SHUTDOWN bit guarded by test_and_set_bit() ensures the cleanup work is queued at most once, no matter how many of {EPOLLHUP, deassign, deinit} fire concurrently. This is safe to call from the waitqueue callback, which runs with wqh->lock held and IRQs disabled and therefore cannot take irqfds_lock. - acrn_irqfd_deassign() flushes vm->irqfd_wq before returning so the eventfd is fully detached on return. acrn_irqfd_deinit() deactivates every irqfd, flushes the workqueue and only then destroys it, so no path can queue_work() onto a torn-down workqueue. - acrn_irqfd_assign() now installs the eventfd waitqueue entry and publishes the irqfd to vm->irqfds under irqfds_lock, so the irqfd is never visible to deassign/deinit before its waitqueue entry is in place, and any EPOLLHUP that fires in the assign window queues cleanup work that blocks on irqfds_lock until publication is done.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-97478?
How do I fix CVE-2026-97478?
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-2026-97478 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-97478 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-103679, BELL-CVE-2026-97478, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97478, GHSA-97q3-wcm5-m49q, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97478.