OCTOBER 9, 2026
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Case File

CVE-2026-98156

HIGH · CVSS 7.8 EPSS 0.13%

Source: NVD + CISA KEV + EPSS · Published 2026-09-25 · Last synced 2026-10-09

CyberRota Analysis

AI-Generated

The vulnerability affects the Linux kernel's handling of DMA API resource backing in Xen paravirtualized (PV) domains, specifically within the virtio-gpu implementation. This flaw can lead to unauthorized memory access, as the host may inadvertently scan unrelated memory pages due to incorrect address resolution. Organizations utilizing Xen PV domains with virtio-gpu should prioritize this issue to mitigate potential data exposure risks.

CVE
CVE-2026-98156
Severity
HIGH
CVSS
7.8
EPSS
0.13%
Linux

Original NVD Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/virtio: use the DMA API for resource backing on Xen On a Xen PV domain page addresses bear no relation to the real machine addresses the host would have to use to reach it. virtio_ring.c handles this correctly, vring_use_map_api() returns true for any xen_domain() regardless of VIRTIO_F_ACCESS_PLATFORM. virtio-gpu makes the same decision independently, but its copy looks only at the feature bit: bool use_dma_api = !virtio_has_dma_quirk(vgdev->vdev); QEMU does not set iommu_platform on virtio-vga by default, so VIRTIO_F_ACCESS_PLATFORM is not negotiated, use_dma_api is false, and virtio_gpu_object_shmem_init() describes the framebuffer's backing pages to the host with sg_phys(). Those are guest-physical addresses. In a PV domain they resolve, on the host side, to pages belonging to some other domain, so the host scans out unrelated memory. Move the decision into virtio_gpu_use_dma_api() and give it the xen_domain() check, like vring_use_map_api() has. This additionally enables the dma_sync_sgtable_for_device() calls in virtgpu_vq.c, which are required for correctness whenever swiotlb is in play. Reproduced with a Xen 4.21 PV dom0 nested inside QEMU 8.2 with virtio-vga, on both a distro 6.8 kernel and 6.18 LTS. A PVH dom0 works fine and doesn't need this fix because it is identity-mapped, only PV dom0s are affected.