Описание
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
KVM: VMX: Bury Intel PT virtualization (guest/host mode) behind CONFIG_BROKEN
Hide KVM's pt_mode module param behind CONFIG_BROKEN, i.e. disable support
for virtualizing Intel PT via guest/host mode unless BROKEN=y. There are
myriad bugs in the implementation, some of which are fatal to the guest,
and others which put the stability and health of the host at risk.
For guest fatalities, the most glaring issue is that KVM fails to ensure
tracing is disabled, and stays disabled prior to VM-Enter, which is
necessary as hardware disallows loading (the guest's) RTIT_CTL if tracing
is enabled (enforced via a VMX consistency check). Per the SDM:
If the logical processor is operating with Intel PT enabled (if
IA32_RTIT_CTL.TraceEn = 1) at the time of VM entry, the "load
IA32_RTIT_CTL" VM-entry control must be 0.
On the host side, KVM doesn't validate the guest CPUID configuration
provided by userspace, and even worse, uses the guest configuration to
decide what MSRs to save/load at VM-Enter and VM-Exit. E.g. configuring
guest CPUID to enumerate more address ranges than are supported in hardware
will result in KVM trying to passthrough, save, and load non-existent MSRs,
which generates a variety of WARNs, ToPA ERRORs in the host, a potential
deadlock, etc.
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) subsystem. In guest/host mode for Intel Processor Trace (Intel PT), the hypervisor fails to properly validate virtual processor configurations and manage tracing states during virtual machine transitions. A local user or guest administrator can exploit this issue by supplying unsupported processor configurations or invalid tracing states. This flaw can trigger hardware errors and deadlocks, leading to a Denial of Service (DoS) and host or guest instability.
Меры по смягчению последствий
Ensure Intel Processor Trace (Intel PT) guest/host virtualization mode is disabled by configuring the kvm_intel module to use system mode (pt_mode=0), which is the default setting.
- Check the current module configuration:
If the output is 0, guest/host mode is not active and the host is not exposed.
2. If the value is 1, disable the feature by configuring /etc/modprobe.d/kvm-intel.conf:
- To apply the setting without rebooting the system, reload the kvm_intel module:
Warning: Unloading and reloading the kvm_intel module requires terminating all active virtual machines running on the hypervisor. Setting pt_mode=0 prevents guest operating systems from utilizing Intel Processor Trace capabilities.
Затронутые пакеты
| Платформа | Пакет | Состояние | Рекомендация | Релиз |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | kernel | Not affected | ||
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | kernel | Not affected | ||
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | kernel-rt | Not affected | ||
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | kernel | Will not fix | ||
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | kernel-rt | Will not fix | ||
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | kernel | Fixed | RHSA-2025:20518 | 11.11.2025 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | kernel | Fixed | RHSA-2025:20518 | 11.11.2025 |
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Дополнительная информация
Статус:
EPSS
6.5 Medium
CVSS3
Связанные уязвимости
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: VMX: Bury Intel PT virtualization (guest/host mode) behind CONFIG_BROKEN Hide KVM's pt_mode module param behind CONFIG_BROKEN, i.e. disable support for virtualizing Intel PT via guest/host mode unless BROKEN=y. There are myriad bugs in the implementation, some of which are fatal to the guest, and others which put the stability and health of the host at risk. For guest fatalities, the most glaring issue is that KVM fails to ensure tracing is disabled, and *stays* disabled prior to VM-Enter, which is necessary as hardware disallows loading (the guest's) RTIT_CTL if tracing is enabled (enforced via a VMX consistency check). Per the SDM: If the logical processor is operating with Intel PT enabled (if IA32_RTIT_CTL.TraceEn = 1) at the time of VM entry, the "load IA32_RTIT_CTL" VM-entry control must be 0. On the host side, KVM doesn't validate the guest CPUID configuration provided by userspace, and even worse, use...
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: VMX: Bury Intel PT virtualization (guest/host mode) behind CONFIG_BROKEN Hide KVM's pt_mode module param behind CONFIG_BROKEN, i.e. disable support for virtualizing Intel PT via guest/host mode unless BROKEN=y. There are myriad bugs in the implementation, some of which are fatal to the guest, and others which put the stability and health of the host at risk. For guest fatalities, the most glaring issue is that KVM fails to ensure tracing is disabled, and *stays* disabled prior to VM-Enter, which is necessary as hardware disallows loading (the guest's) RTIT_CTL if tracing is enabled (enforced via a VMX consistency check). Per the SDM: If the logical processor is operating with Intel PT enabled (if IA32_RTIT_CTL.TraceEn = 1) at the time of VM entry, the "load IA32_RTIT_CTL" VM-entry control must be 0. On the host side, KVM doesn't validate the guest CPUID configuration provided by userspace, and even wo
KVM: VMX: Bury Intel PT virtualization (guest/host mode) behind CONFIG_BROKEN
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: K ...
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: VMX: Bury Intel PT virtualization (guest/host mode) behind CONFIG_BROKEN Hide KVM's pt_mode module param behind CONFIG_BROKEN, i.e. disable support for virtualizing Intel PT via guest/host mode unless BROKEN=y. There are myriad bugs in the implementation, some of which are fatal to the guest, and others which put the stability and health of the host at risk. For guest fatalities, the most glaring issue is that KVM fails to ensure tracing is disabled, and *stays* disabled prior to VM-Enter, which is necessary as hardware disallows loading (the guest's) RTIT_CTL if tracing is enabled (enforced via a VMX consistency check). Per the SDM: If the logical processor is operating with Intel PT enabled (if IA32_RTIT_CTL.TraceEn = 1) at the time of VM entry, the "load IA32_RTIT_CTL" VM-entry control must be 0. On the host side, KVM doesn't validate the guest CPUID configuration provided by userspace, and even...
EPSS
6.5 Medium
CVSS3