MediumCVE-2026-99176

    Linux Kernel: NULL Pointer Dereference (CVE-2026-99176)

    Published Last modified Sources: Debian, BSI, Msrc Update Guide, CVE.org

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    What is affected, what to do

    In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: nVMX: Reset MMU back to the root MMU if loading L2 state fails for !VM-Entry Reset the vCPU's MMU pointer back to the root MMU if loading L2 state fails in the "not from VM-Entry" case, i.e. when emulating RSM or handling KVM_SET_NESTED_STATE. Failure to unwind the MMU pointer results in KVM trying to run L1 with a nested MMU, and is especially problematic if the vCPU manages to free its nested state before the VM crashes.

    Update Linux Kernel to version 5.10.273, Linux Kernel to version 5.15.224, Linux Kernel to version 6.1.191.

    Affected
    • Linux Kernel lt 4.15..5.10.273
    • Linux Kernel lt 5.11..5.15.224
    • Linux Kernel lt 5.16..6.1.191
    • Linux Kernel lt 6.2..6.6.161
    • Linux Kernel lt 6.7..6.12.115
    • Linux Kernel lt 6.13..6.18.59
    • Linux Kernel lt 6.19..7.2.13
    Fixed in
    • Linux Kernel 5.10.273
    • Linux Kernel 5.15.224
    • Linux Kernel 6.1.191
    • Linux Kernel 6.6.161
    • Linux Kernel 6.12.115
    • Linux Kernel 6.18.59
    • Linux Kernel 7.2.13
    • Linux Kernel 7.3

    Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability

    Metrics

    4.7

    Priority

    XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

    Source: Vendor (CNA), CVSS v3

    4.7

    CVSS v3

    Severity Medium on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: Debian, BSI, Msrc Update Guide, CVE.org

    0.2 %

    EPSS score

    Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.

    Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 10.1

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    Medium
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    54.31 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

    Read in glossary
    no public PoC known
    XIEM Effective CVSS

    XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.

    Read in glossary
    4.7 Methodology
    CVSS v3

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    4.7
    EPSS score

    The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.

    Read in glossary
    0.2 %
    Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
    EPSS percentile

    The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.

    Read in glossary
    10.1
    Elevated — this CVE ranks above at least 10% of all CVEs scored today.
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    —
    Published

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    Handle the vulnerability in regular vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2.
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    Description

    In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: nVMX: Reset MMU back to the root MMU if loading L2 state fails for !VM-Entry Reset the vCPU's MMU pointer back to the root MMU if loading L2 state fails in the "not from VM-Entry" case, i.e. when emulating RSM or handling KVM_SET_NESTED_STATE. Failure to unwind the MMU pointer results in KVM trying to run L1 with a nested MMU, and is especially problematic if the vCPU manages to free its nested state before the VM crashes. Constructing the root for a nested EPT MMU goes through vmcs12, which is dynamically allocated/freed when nVMX is enabled/disabled. And so if the nested state is freed with the MMU still pointing at the nested MMU, KVM will hit a NULL pointer deref when attempting to get L1=>L2 EPTP. BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000078 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 114a2d067 P4D 111743067 PUD 11141f067 PMD 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP CPU: 20 UID: 1000 PID: 1272 Comm: nested_tdp_faul Not tainted 7.3.0-rc4-8c89f11d1a99b-sink-vm #1914 PREEMPTLAZY Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 0.0.0 02/06/2015 RIP: 0010:nested_ept_get_eptp+0xb/0x10 [kvm_intel] Call Trace: <TASK> kvm_mmu_load+0xcd/0x870 [kvm] kvm_arch_vcpu_ioctl_run+0x18f5/0x1f80 [kvm] kvm_vcpu_ioctl+0x2c7/0x970 [kvm] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x90/0xd0 do_syscall_64+0x9c/0x4d0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 RIP: 0033:0x47491b </TASK> Modules linked in: kvm_intel kvm irqbypass CR2: 0000000000000078 ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- RIP: 0010:nested_ept_get_eptp+0xb/0x10 [kvm_intel] [sean: write changelog]

    Source: Debian Security Advisories, BSI WID Portal, BSI CSAF, Microsoft Security Update Guide, cvelistv5, NVD (NIST)

    Affected products

    The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    LinuxLinux
    • 6.7 – < 6.12.115
    • 6.19 – < 7.2.13
    • 5.11 – < 5.15.224
    • 5.16 – < 6.1.191
    • 4.15 – < 5.10.273
    • 6.13 – < 6.18.59
    • —
    • 6.2 – < 6.6.161
    • 6.12.115
    • 7.2.13
    • 5.15.224
    • 6.1.191
    • 5.10.273
    • 6.18.59
    • 7.3
    • 6.6.161

    Vendors and products

    Affected operating systems

    Affected operating systems
    Linuxdebianlinuxtrixie

    References & sources

    Changes to this CVE

    Who changed this CVE and when: NVD (analysis, affected products, CVSS), the CVE publisher (CNA) and additional providers such as CISA (ADP).

    1. Record modifiedLinux

      Show 6 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Affected versions (publisher)added
      —
      Affected value modified. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/99xxx/CVE-2026-99176.json">CVE-2026-99176</a>
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6a36b05fc5b3d660fcc826133dc92e2fc87bd1de
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c2586874605ec23b611c57fe71d183d98f168971
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c611337aee17a0627e365e58e2b6e78803fb3c36
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/df4d01be5b318024bec68654c7af0ebc0e0ed8a1
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f0c077c36fda9d498db39199e3997860e985efc8

      Source identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

    2. ReceivedLinux

      Description added or changed

      Show 5 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Descriptionadded
      —
      In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: nVMX: Reset MMU back to the root MMU if loading L2 state fails for !VM-Entry Reset the vCPU's MMU pointer back to the root MMU if loading L2 state fails in the "not from VM-Entry" case, i.e. when emulating RSM or handling KVM_SET_NESTED_STATE. Failure to unwind the MMU pointer results in KVM trying to run L1 with a nested MMU, and is especially problematic if the vCPU manages to free its nested state before the VM crashes. Constructing the root for a nested EPT MMU goes through vmcs12, which is dynamically allocated/freed when nVMX is enabled/disabled. And so if the nested state is freed with the MMU still pointing at the nested MMU, KVM will hit a NULL pointer deref when attempting to get L1=>L2 EPTP. BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000078 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 114a2d067 P4D 111743067 PUD 11141f067 PMD 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP CPU: 20 UID: 1000 PID: 1272 Comm: nested_tdp_faul Not tainted 7.3.0-rc4-8c89f11d1a99b-sink-vm #1914 PREEMPTLAZY Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 0.0.0 02/06/2015 RIP: 0010:nested_ept_get_eptp+0xb/0x10 [kvm_intel] Call Trace: <TASK> kvm_mmu_load+0xcd/0x870 [kvm] kvm_arch_vcpu_ioctl_run+0x18f5/0x1f80 [kvm] kvm_vcpu_ioctl+0x2c7/0x970 [kvm] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x90/0xd0 do_syscall_64+0x9c/0x4d0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 RIP: 0033:0x47491b </TASK> Modules linked in: kvm_intel kvm irqbypass CR2: 0000000000000078 ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- RIP: 0010:nested_ept_get_eptp+0xb/0x10 [kvm_intel] [sean: write changelog]
      Affected versions (publisher)added
      —
      New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/99xxx/CVE-2026-99176.json">CVE-2026-99176</a>
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c8f4cfe1cf93bce924e27f2abead7a4c4a487505
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c9716f956216eb74ab0aad7f633586edd49e0322
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d00d5f534a8238674755e59826a6c7d3c8efb870

      Source identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

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