Improper control of a resource through its lifetime in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-72287
Published: August 16, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU143151
CSH Severity: Low
CVSS v4: 8.4 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: CVE-2026-72287
CWE-ID: CWE-664
Exploitation vector: Local access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vulnerability details
The vulnerability allows a local privileged user to execute code in the host kernel.
The vulnerability exists due to improper state management in KVM nVMX nested VM-entry control checks when entering non-root mode with a crafted vTPR and TPR threshold combination. A local privileged user can supply crafted nested VMX state to cause KVM to run L1 with an L1-controlled CR3 to execute code in the host kernel.
The issue arises when EPT is disabled, and the consistency check was performed only in a late validation path.
Affected software
Linux kernel
Ubuntu
linux (Ubuntu package)
linux-gcp (Ubuntu package)
Ubuntu
linux (Ubuntu package)
linux-gcp (Ubuntu package)
How to mitigate CVE-2026-72287
Install security update from vendor's repository.
Linux kernel - update to 7.0 rc3
linux (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 7.0.0-34.34, 7.0.0-34.34.1, 7.0.0-34.34~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1012.12~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1013.13, 7.0.0-1013.13~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1014.14, 7.0.0-1020.20
linux-gcp (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 7.0.0-1013.13, 7.0.0-1013.13~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1014.14
linux (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 7.0.0-34.34, 7.0.0-34.34.1, 7.0.0-34.34~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1012.12~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1013.13, 7.0.0-1013.13~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1014.14, 7.0.0-1020.20
linux-gcp (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 7.0.0-1013.13, 7.0.0-1013.13~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1014.14