This vulnerability (CVE-2026-53359) is a use-after-free flaw in the KVM x86 shadow paging implementation within the Linux kernel, specifically affecting kernel version 4.18.0-477.97.1.el8_8. The flaw arises from an unexpected role leading to improper handling of shadow paging structures, which can cause memory corruption. Red Hat has issued live patch modules (kpatch) to fix this issue, allowing modification of the running kernel code without reboot. The vulnerability has a CVSS vector indicating local attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction, scope changed, and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The patches are targeted at Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 and related variants.

Successful exploitation of this use-after-free vulnerability in the KVM x86 shadow paging code could allow an attacker with local access and low privileges to cause memory corruption, potentially leading to a complete compromise of the affected system's confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The CVSS vector indicates high impact on all three security properties. This could affect virtualized environments relying on KVM on the affected kernel versions.

Red Hat has released official live patch updates (kpatch-patch-4_18_0-477_97_1 and related versions) for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 to address this vulnerability. Users should apply these kpatch live patches as per Red Hat's guidance to remediate the issue. For detailed instructions on applying the update, refer to https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258. Since this is a live patch, it can be applied without rebooting the system. Patch status is confirmed as available and official.