Vulnerability in Linux kernel (CVE-2026-74516)
Summary
Vulnerability in Linux kernel (CVE-2026-74516). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
KVM: SVM: Update x2APIC MSR intercepts if AVIC is inhibited while L2 is active
Always update x2APIC MSR intercepts for L1 when AVIC is deactivated, even
if L2 is active and KVM is using a separate MSR bitmap to run L2. If AVIC
is fully enabled prior to running L2, and is then inhibited while L2 is
active (for a VM-scoped inhibit), then KVM will run L1 with AVIC disabled,
but with x2APIC MSR intercepts disabled, i.e. will allow L1 to read most of
the host's APIC state, send arbitrary interrupts, change task priority, and
ultimately trivially DoS the host.
E.g. sending a self-IPI in L1 on HYPERV_REENLIGHTENMENT_VECTOR, 0xee, with
CONFIG_HYPERV=n in the host kernel as a "safe" PoC, yields:
Spurious interrupt (vector 0xee) on CPU#425. Acked
And hacking KVM to abuse kvm_set_posted_intr_wakeup_handler() to register a
handler and WARN on POSTED_INTR_WAKEUP_VECTOR yields:
------------[ cut here ]------------
WARNING: arch/x86/kvm/svm/svm.c:5594 at pi_wakeup_handler+0x9/0x10 [kvm_amd], CPU#156: nested_x2apic_t/316940
CPU: 156 UID: 0 PID: 316940 Comm: nested_x2apic_t Tainted: G S U
Tainted: [S]=CPU_OUT_OF_SPEC, [U]=USER
Hardware name: Google Astoria-Turin/astoria, BIOS 0.20260209.0-0 02/09/2026
RIP: 0010:pi_wakeup_handler+0x9/0x10 [kvm_amd]
Call Trace:
sysvec_kvm_posted_intr_wakeup_ipi+0x64/0x80
asm_sysvec_kvm_posted_intr_wakeup_ipi+0x1a/0x20
RIP: 0010:vcpu_run+0x1430/0x1e40…
Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database NVD GitHub Advisory
Auto-generated summary
Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.
A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2026-74516 has been found in Linux kernel.
Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover. CVSS score: 8.2/10.
What to do: apply the vendor's official patched release.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "Linux kernel CVE-2026-74516" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2026-74516 (Linux kernel) — CVSS v3 8.2
Attack vector: local / no user interaction
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.
A vulnerability (unclassified) exists in Linux kernel.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of Linux kernel.
Severity: High (CVSS 8.2/10). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.
Update to the patched release per vendor advisory.
Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.
Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Audit SBOM/dependencies to find affected services.
Response actions
Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order
-
1Identify exposure identify
Audit SBOM/dependencies for affected components.資産台帳・SBOM・依存マニフェストで Linux kernel を使っているサービスとバージョンを洗い出す。
-
2Post-deployment verification verify
Confirm patched version is live in productionパッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。
Affected packages
Fix status by distribution
Fixed packages published by each distribution for this CVE
- Debian DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74516 linux Fixed in: 6.1.187-1
- Ubuntu UBUNTU-CVE-2026-74516 linux-hwe-edge
References
- advisory nvd.nist.gov
- advisory github.com
- package git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web github.com
- web git.kernel.org