In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
iommu: disable SVA when CONFIG_X86 is set
Patch series "Fix stale IOTLB entries for kernel address space", v7.
This proposes a fix for a security vulnerability related to IOMMU Shared
Virtual Addressing (SVA). In an SVA context, an IOMMU can cache kernel
page table entries. When a kernel page table page is freed and
reallocated for another purpose, the IOMMU might still hold stale,
incorrect entries. This can be exploited to cause a use-after-free or
write-after-free condition, potentially leading to privilege escalation or
data corruption.
This solution introduces a deferred freeing mechanism for kernel page
table pages, which provides a safe window to notify the IOMMU to
invalidate its caches before the page is reused.
This patch (of 8):
In the IOMMU Shared Virtual Addressing (SVA) context, the IOMMU hardware
shares and walks the CPU's page tables. The x86 architecture maps the
kernel's virtual address space into the upper portion of every process's
page table. Consequently, in an SVA context, the IOMMU hardware can walk
and cache kernel page table entries.
The Linux kernel currently lacks a notification mechanism for kernel page
table changes, specifically when page table pages are freed and reused.
The IOMMU driver is only notified of changes to user virtual address
mappings. This can cause the IOMMU's internal caches to retain stale
entries for kernel VA.
Use-After-Free (UAF) and Write-After-Free (WAF) conditions arise when
kernel page table pages are freed and later reallocated. The IOMMU could
misinterpret the new data as valid page table entries. The IOMMU might
then walk into attacker-controlled memory, leading to arbitrary physical
memory DMA access or privilege escalation. This is also a
Write-After-Free issue, as the IOMMU will potentially continue to write
Accessed and Dirty bits to the freed memory while attempting to walk the
stale page tables.
Currently, SVA contexts are unprivileged and cannot access kernel
mappings. However, the IOMMU will still walk kernel-only page tables all
the way down to the leaf entries, where it realizes the mapping is for the
kernel and errors out. This means the IOMMU still caches these
intermediate page table entries, making the described vulnerability a real
concern.
Disable SVA on x86 architecture until the IOMMU can receive notification
to flush the paging cache before freeing the CPU kernel page table pages.
iommu: disable SVA when CONFIG_X86 is set
Patch series "Fix stale IOTLB entries for kernel address space", v7.
This proposes a fix for a security vulnerability related to IOMMU Shared
Virtual Addressing (SVA). In an SVA context, an IOMMU can cache kernel
page table entries. When a kernel page table page is freed and
reallocated for another purpose, the IOMMU might still hold stale,
incorrect entries. This can be exploited to cause a use-after-free or
write-after-free condition, potentially leading to privilege escalation or
data corruption.
This solution introduces a deferred freeing mechanism for kernel page
table pages, which provides a safe window to notify the IOMMU to
invalidate its caches before the page is reused.
This patch (of 8):
In the IOMMU Shared Virtual Addressing (SVA) context, the IOMMU hardware
shares and walks the CPU's page tables. The x86 architecture maps the
kernel's virtual address space into the upper portion of every process's
page table. Consequently, in an SVA context, the IOMMU hardware can walk
and cache kernel page table entries.
The Linux kernel currently lacks a notification mechanism for kernel page
table changes, specifically when page table pages are freed and reused.
The IOMMU driver is only notified of changes to user virtual address
mappings. This can cause the IOMMU's internal caches to retain stale
entries for kernel VA.
Use-After-Free (UAF) and Write-After-Free (WAF) conditions arise when
kernel page table pages are freed and later reallocated. The IOMMU could
misinterpret the new data as valid page table entries. The IOMMU might
then walk into attacker-controlled memory, leading to arbitrary physical
memory DMA access or privilege escalation. This is also a
Write-After-Free issue, as the IOMMU will potentially continue to write
Accessed and Dirty bits to the freed memory while attempting to walk the
stale page tables.
Currently, SVA contexts are unprivileged and cannot access kernel
mappings. However, the IOMMU will still walk kernel-only page tables all
the way down to the leaf entries, where it realizes the mapping is for the
kernel and errors out. This means the IOMMU still caches these
intermediate page table entries, making the described vulnerability a real
concern.
Disable SVA on x86 architecture until the IOMMU can receive notification
to flush the paging cache before freeing the CPU kernel page table pages.
Metrics
Affected Vendors & Products
Advisories
No advisories yet.
Fixes
Solution
No solution given by the vendor.
Workaround
No workaround given by the vendor.
References
History
Tue, 13 Jan 2026 15:45:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: iommu: disable SVA when CONFIG_X86 is set Patch series "Fix stale IOTLB entries for kernel address space", v7. This proposes a fix for a security vulnerability related to IOMMU Shared Virtual Addressing (SVA). In an SVA context, an IOMMU can cache kernel page table entries. When a kernel page table page is freed and reallocated for another purpose, the IOMMU might still hold stale, incorrect entries. This can be exploited to cause a use-after-free or write-after-free condition, potentially leading to privilege escalation or data corruption. This solution introduces a deferred freeing mechanism for kernel page table pages, which provides a safe window to notify the IOMMU to invalidate its caches before the page is reused. This patch (of 8): In the IOMMU Shared Virtual Addressing (SVA) context, the IOMMU hardware shares and walks the CPU's page tables. The x86 architecture maps the kernel's virtual address space into the upper portion of every process's page table. Consequently, in an SVA context, the IOMMU hardware can walk and cache kernel page table entries. The Linux kernel currently lacks a notification mechanism for kernel page table changes, specifically when page table pages are freed and reused. The IOMMU driver is only notified of changes to user virtual address mappings. This can cause the IOMMU's internal caches to retain stale entries for kernel VA. Use-After-Free (UAF) and Write-After-Free (WAF) conditions arise when kernel page table pages are freed and later reallocated. The IOMMU could misinterpret the new data as valid page table entries. The IOMMU might then walk into attacker-controlled memory, leading to arbitrary physical memory DMA access or privilege escalation. This is also a Write-After-Free issue, as the IOMMU will potentially continue to write Accessed and Dirty bits to the freed memory while attempting to walk the stale page tables. Currently, SVA contexts are unprivileged and cannot access kernel mappings. However, the IOMMU will still walk kernel-only page tables all the way down to the leaf entries, where it realizes the mapping is for the kernel and errors out. This means the IOMMU still caches these intermediate page table entries, making the described vulnerability a real concern. Disable SVA on x86 architecture until the IOMMU can receive notification to flush the paging cache before freeing the CPU kernel page table pages. | |
| Title | iommu: disable SVA when CONFIG_X86 is set | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
Projects
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MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-01-13T15:34:51.079Z
Reserved: 2026-01-13T15:30:19.649Z
Link: CVE-2025-71089
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Received
Published: 2026-01-13T16:16:08.583
Modified: 2026-01-13T16:16:08.583
Link: CVE-2025-71089
Redhat
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
Weaknesses
No weakness.