HIGH
iommu PASID Race
CVE-2026-45894
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
KernelScan AI4.7MEDIUM
01Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: iommu/vt-d: Clear Present bit before tearing down PASID entry The Intel VT-d Scalable Mode PASID table entry consists of 512 bits (64 bytes). When tearing down an entry, the current implementation zeros the entire 64-byte structure immediately using multiple 64-bit writes. Since the IOMMU hardware may fetch these 64 bytes using multiple internal transactions (e.g., four 128-bit bursts), updating or zeroing the entire entry while it is active (P=1) risks a "torn" read. If a hardware fetch occurs simultaneously with the CPU zeroing the entry, the hardware could observe an inconsistent state, leading to unpredictable behavior or spurious faults. Follow 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 PASID entry. 2. Use a dma_wmb() to ensure the cleared bit is visible to hardware before proceeding. 3. Execute the required invalidation sequence (PASID cache, IOTLB, and Device-TLB flush) to ensure the hardware has released all cached references. 4. Only after the flushes are complete, zero out the remaining fields of the PASID entry. Also, add a dma_wmb() in pasid_set_present() to ensure that all other fields of the PASID entry are visible to the hardware before the Present bit is set.
02KernelScan AI Analysis
Risk summary
Intel VT-d IOMMU systems with Scalable Mode are vulnerable to a race condition during PASID table entry teardown. Hardware reading partially-zeroed entries can observe inconsistent state, leading to spurious faults or system instability. Requires administrative privileges to trigger.
Vulnerability analysis
The vulnerability occurs in intel_pasid_tear_down_entry() where the entire 64-byte PASID table entry is zeroed immediately while the Present bit is still set. Since IOMMU hardware fetches entries using multiple transactions, a race exists where hardware can read a partially-updated entry with P=1 but corrupted fields. The fix implements the VT-d specification's ownership handshake by clearing the Present bit first, executing invalidation flushes, then zeroing remaining fields. This requires CAP_SYS_ADMIN privileges and Intel VT-d hardware with Scalable Mode, making it a local privileged attack surface with high complexity due to timing requirements.
03Fix Versions
| Branch | Fixed in | Patch commit |
|---|---|---|
| 6.12 | 6.12.75 | a84d30e8d2ba |
| 6.18 | 6.18.14 | 821807c167b7 |
| 6.19 | 6.19.4 | 949d71666e9d |
| mainline | 7.0 | 75ed00055c05 |