CVE-2026-23402: Linux kernel · KVM: x86/mmu: Only WARN in direct MMUs when overwriting shadow-present SPTE
Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium.
Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC
- EPSS
- 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 5% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 1 Apr 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.
What to do
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
Ubuntu 25.10linuxpkg:deb/ubuntu/linux?arch=source&distro=questingOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 25.10linux-awspkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws?arch=source&distro=questingOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 25.10linux-azurepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure?arch=source&distro=questingOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 25.10linux-azure-fdepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-fde?arch=source&distro=questingOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 25.10linux-gcppkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gcp?arch=source&distro=questingOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 25.10linux-oraclepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-oracle?arch=source&distro=questingOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: x86/mmu: Only WARN in direct MMUs when overwriting shadow-present SPTE Adjust KVM's sanity check against overwriting a shadow-present SPTE with a another SPTE with a different target PFN to only apply to direct MMUs, i.e. only to MMUs without shadowed gPTEs. While it's impossible for KVM to overwrite a shadow-present SPTE in response to a guest write, writes from outside the scope of KVM, e.g. from host userspace, aren't detected by KVM's write tracking and so can break KVM's shadow paging rules. ------------[ cut here ]------------ pfn != spte_to_pfn(*sptep) WARNING: arch/x86/kvm/mmu/mmu.c:3069 at mmu_set_spte+0x1e4/0x440 [kvm], CPU#0: vmx_ept_stale_r/872 Modules linked in: kvm_intel kvm irqbypass CPU: 0 UID: 1000 PID: 872 Comm: vmx_ept_stale_r Not tainted 7.0.0-rc2-eafebd2d2ab0-sink-vm #319 PREEMPT Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 0.0.0 02/06/2015 RIP: 0010:mmu_set_spte+0x1e4/0x440 [kvm] Call Trace: <TASK> ept_page_fault+0x535/0x7f0 [kvm] kvm_mmu_do_page_fault+0xee/0x1f0 [kvm] kvm_mmu_page_fault+0x8d/0x620 [kvm] vmx_handle_exit+0x18c/0x5a0 [kvm_intel] kvm_arch_vcpu_ioctl_run+0xc55/0x1c20 [kvm] kvm_vcpu_ioctl+0x2d5/0x980 [kvm] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x8a/0xd0 do_syscall_64+0xb5/0x730 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 </TASK> ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]---