FKIE_CVE-2026-43331
Vulnerability from fkie_nvd - Published: 2026-05-08 14:16 - Updated: 2026-05-18 12:39
Severity
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
x86/kexec: Disable KCOV instrumentation after load_segments()
The load_segments() function changes segment registers, invalidating GS base
(which KCOV relies on for per-cpu data). When CONFIG_KCOV is enabled, any
subsequent instrumented C code call (e.g. native_gdt_invalidate()) begins
crashing the kernel in an endless loop.
To reproduce the problem, it's sufficient to do kexec on a KCOV-instrumented
kernel:
$ kexec -l /boot/otherKernel
$ kexec -e
The real-world context for this problem is enabling crash dump collection in
syzkaller. For this, the tool loads a panic kernel before fuzzing and then
calls makedumpfile after the panic. This workflow requires both CONFIG_KEXEC
and CONFIG_KCOV to be enabled simultaneously.
Adding safeguards directly to the KCOV fast-path (__sanitizer_cov_trace_pc())
is also undesirable as it would introduce an extra performance overhead.
Disabling instrumentation for the individual functions would be too fragile,
so disable KCOV instrumentation for the entire machine_kexec_64.c and
physaddr.c. If coverage-guided fuzzing ever needs these components in the
future, other approaches should be considered.
The problem is not relevant for 32 bit kernels as CONFIG_KCOV is not supported
there.
[ bp: Space out comment for better readability. ]
References
Impacted products
| Vendor | Product | Version | |
|---|---|---|---|
| linux | linux_kernel | * | |
| linux | linux_kernel | * | |
| linux | linux_kernel | 7.0 | |
| linux | linux_kernel | 7.0 | |
| linux | linux_kernel | 7.0 | |
| linux | linux_kernel | 7.0 | |
| linux | linux_kernel | 7.0 | |
| linux | linux_kernel | 7.0 |
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"descriptions": [
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"lang": "en",
"value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nx86/kexec: Disable KCOV instrumentation after load_segments()\n\nThe load_segments() function changes segment registers, invalidating GS base\n(which KCOV relies on for per-cpu data). When CONFIG_KCOV is enabled, any\nsubsequent instrumented C code call (e.g. native_gdt_invalidate()) begins\ncrashing the kernel in an endless loop.\n\nTo reproduce the problem, it\u0027s sufficient to do kexec on a KCOV-instrumented\nkernel:\n\n $ kexec -l /boot/otherKernel\n $ kexec -e\n\nThe real-world context for this problem is enabling crash dump collection in\nsyzkaller. For this, the tool loads a panic kernel before fuzzing and then\ncalls makedumpfile after the panic. This workflow requires both CONFIG_KEXEC\nand CONFIG_KCOV to be enabled simultaneously.\n\nAdding safeguards directly to the KCOV fast-path (__sanitizer_cov_trace_pc())\nis also undesirable as it would introduce an extra performance overhead.\n\nDisabling instrumentation for the individual functions would be too fragile,\nso disable KCOV instrumentation for the entire machine_kexec_64.c and\nphysaddr.c. If coverage-guided fuzzing ever needs these components in the\nfuture, other approaches should be considered.\n\nThe problem is not relevant for 32 bit kernels as CONFIG_KCOV is not supported\nthere.\n\n [ bp: Space out comment for better readability. ]"
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"id": "CVE-2026-43331",
"lastModified": "2026-05-18T12:39:01.053",
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"attackComplexity": "LOW",
"attackVector": "LOCAL",
"availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
"baseScore": 5.5,
"baseSeverity": "MEDIUM",
"confidentialityImpact": "NONE",
"integrityImpact": "NONE",
"privilegesRequired": "LOW",
"scope": "UNCHANGED",
"userInteraction": "NONE",
"vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H",
"version": "3.1"
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"source": "nvd@nist.gov",
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"published": "2026-05-08T14:16:42.763",
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Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
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- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
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