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HIGHCVE-2026-45944Published Modified CNA Linux

CVE-2026-45944: iommu/vt-d: Clear Present bit before tearing down context entry

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: iommu/vt-d: Clear Present bit before tearing down context entry When tearing down a context entry, the current implementation zeros the entire 128-bit entry using multiple 64-bit writes. This creates a window where the hardware can fetch a "torn" entry — where some fields are already zeroed while the 'Present' bit is still set — leading to unpredictable behavior or spurious faults. While x86 provides strong write ordering, the compiler may reorder writes to the two 64-bit halves of the context entry. Even without compiler reordering, the hardware fetch is not guaranteed to be atomic with respect to multiple CPU writes. Align with the "Guidance to Software for Invalidations" in the VT-d spec (Section 6.5.3.3) by implementing the recommended ownership handshake: 1. Clear only the 'Present' (P) bit of the context entry first to signal the transition of ownership from hardware to software. 2. Use dma_wmb() to ensure the cleared bit is visible to the IOMMU. 3. Perform the required cache and context-cache invalidation to ensure hardware no longer has cached references to the entry. 4. Fully zero out the entry only after the invalidation is complete. Also, add a dma_wmb() to context_set_present() to ensure the entry is fully initialized before the 'Present' bit becomes visible.

Metrics

CVSS v3.1
7.5
Severity
HIGH
Fixed in
0
Affected Products
2

Fix available

06.18.146.19.47.0a922dbafb4a674d958d702038232d09a30daf770c1e4f1dccbe9d7656d1c6872ebeadb5992d0aaa2d2138abc8f0a7fce4101b7229b43b06811ed083d
Affected packages
  • Linux / Linux
    < d2138abc8f0a7fce4101b7229b43b06811ed083d (from ba39592764ed20cee09aae5352e603a27bf56b0d) · < a922dbafb4a674d958d702038232d09a30daf770 (from ba39592764ed20cee09aae5352e603a27bf56b0d) · < c1e4f1dccbe9d7656d1c6872ebeadb5992d0aaa2 (from ba39592764ed20cee09aae5352e603a27bf56b0d)
  • Linux / Linux
    2.6.24
    Fixed in 0, 6.18.14, 6.19.4, 7.0
CVSS Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H