Vulnerability in Linux

CVE-2026-23005

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: x86/fpu: Clear XSTATE_BV[i] in guest XSAVE state whenever XFD[i]=1 When loading guest XSAVE state via KVM_SET_XSAVE, and when updating XFD in response to a guest WRMSR, clear XFD-disabled features in the saved (or to be restored) XSTATE_BV to ensure KVM doesn't attempt to load state for features that are disabled via the guest's XFD. Because the kernel executes XRSTOR with the guest's XFD, saving XSTATE_BV[i]=1 with XFD[i]=1 will cause XRSTOR to #NM and panic the kernel. E.g. if fpu_update_guest_xfd() sets XFD without clearing XSTATE_BV: ------------[ cut here ]------------ WARNING: arch/x86/kernel/traps.c:1524 at exc_device_not_available+0x101/0x110, CPU#29: amx_test/848 Modules linked in: kvm_intel kvm irqbypass CPU: 29 UID: 1000 PID: 848 Comm: amx_test Not tainted 6.19.0-rc2-ffa07f7fd437-x86_amx_nm_xfd_non_init-vm #171 NONE Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 0.0.0 02/06/2015 RIP: 0010:exc_device_not_available+0x101/0x110 Call Trace: <TASK> asm_exc_device_not_available+0x1a/0x20 RIP: 0010:restore_fpregs_from_fpstate+0x36/0x90 switch_fpu_return+0x4a/0xb0 kvm_arch_vcpu_ioctl_run+0x1245/0x1e40 [kvm] kvm_vcpu_ioctl+0x2c3/0x8f0 [kvm] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x8f/0xd0 do_syscall_64+0x62/0x940 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 </TASK> ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- This can happen if the guest executes WRMSR(MSR_IA32_XFD) to set XFD[18] = 1, and a host IRQ triggers kernel_fpu_begin() prior to the vmexit handler's call to fpu_update_guest_xfd(). and if userspace stuffs XSTATE_BV[i]=1 via KVM_SET_XSAVE: ------------[ cut here ]------------ WARNING: arch/x86/kernel/traps.c:1524 at exc_device_not_available+0x101/0x110, CPU#14: amx_test/867 Modules linked in: kvm_intel kvm irqbypass CPU: 14 UID: 1000 PID: 867 Comm: amx_test Not tainted 6.19.0-rc2-2dace9faccd6-x86_amx_nm_xfd_non_init-vm #168 NONE Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 0.0.0 02/06/2015 RIP: 0010:exc_device_not_available+0x101/0x110 Call Trace: <TASK> asm_exc_device_not_available+0x1a/0x20 RIP: 0010:restore_fpregs_from_fpstate+0x36/0x90 fpu_swap_kvm_fpstate+0x6b/0x120 kvm_load_guest_fpu+0x30/0x80 [kvm] kvm_arch_vcpu_ioctl_run+0x85/0x1e40 [kvm] kvm_vcpu_ioctl+0x2c3/0x8f0 [kvm] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x8f/0xd0 do_syscall_64+0x62/0x940 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 </TASK> ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- The new behavior is consistent with the AMX architecture. Per Intel's SDM, XSAVE saves XSTATE_BV as '0' for components that are disabled via XFD (and non-compacted XSAVE saves the initial configuration of the state component): If XSAVE, XSAVEC, XSAVEOPT, or XSAVES is saving the state component i, the instruction does not generate #NM when XCR0[i] = IA32_XFD[i] = 1; instead, it operates as if XINUSE[i] = 0 (and the state component was in its initial state): it saves bit i of XSTATE_BV field of the XSAVE header as 0; in addition, XSAVE saves the initial configuration of the state component (the other instructions do not save state component i). Alternatively, KVM could always do XRSTOR with XFD=0, e.g. by using a constant XFD based on the set of enabled features when XSAVEing for a struct fpu_guest. However, having XSTATE_BV[i]=1 for XFD-disabled features can only happen in the above interrupt case, or in similar scenarios involving preemption on preemptible kernels, because fpu_swap_kvm_fpstate()'s call to save_fpregs_to_fpstate() saves the outgoing FPU state with the current XFD; and that is (on all but the first WRMSR to XFD) the guest XFD. Therefore, XFD can only go out of sync with XSTATE_BV in the above interrupt case, or in similar scenarios involving preemption on preemptible kernels, and it we can consider it (de facto) part of KVM ABI that KVM_GET_XSAVE returns XSTATE_BV[i]=0 for XFD-disabled features. [Move clea ---truncated---

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 5.5 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.002 (11.5th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 11th percentile — 11.5% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2026-23005: held from 0.002 to 0.002.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.002 · newest: 0.002 · change: +0.000

Affected products

  • Linux — versions 820a6ee944e74e57255ac2e90916ecdaade57b95, 5.17, 0
  • Linux Kernel — versions 5.17, 6.19

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-23005?
CVE-2026-23005 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2026-01-25.
How severe is CVE-2026-23005?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.
Is CVE-2026-23005 known to be exploited?
1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.