a vCPU returning to a CPU on which it was the previous vCPU to run.
While safe for Xen's isolation between vCPUs, this prevents the guest
kernel correctly isolating between tasks. Consider:
1) vCPU runs on CPU A, running task 1.
2) vCPU moves to CPU B, idle gets scheduled on A. Xen skips IBPB.
3) On CPU B, guest kernel switches from task 1 to 2, issuing IBPB.
4) vCPU moves back to CPU A. Xen skips IBPB again.
Now, task 2 is running on CPU A with task 1's training still in the BTB.
Metrics
Affected Vendors & Products
No advisories yet.
Solution
No solution given by the vendor.
Workaround
Using "spec-ctrl=ibpb-entry=hvm,ibpb-entry=pv" on the Xen command line will activate the SRSO mitigation on non-SRSO-vulnerable hardware, but it is a large overhead.
Wed, 28 Jan 2026 17:30:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
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| References |
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Wed, 28 Jan 2026 17:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Weaknesses | CWE-665 CWE-693 |
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| Metrics |
cvssV3_1
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Wed, 28 Jan 2026 16:00:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the context switch logic Xen attempts to skip an IBPB in the case of a vCPU returning to a CPU on which it was the previous vCPU to run. While safe for Xen's isolation between vCPUs, this prevents the guest kernel correctly isolating between tasks. Consider: 1) vCPU runs on CPU A, running task 1. 2) vCPU moves to CPU B, idle gets scheduled on A. Xen skips IBPB. 3) On CPU B, guest kernel switches from task 1 to 2, issuing IBPB. 4) vCPU moves back to CPU A. Xen skips IBPB again. Now, task 2 is running on CPU A with task 1's training still in the BTB. | |
| Title | x86: incomplete IBPB for vCPU isolation | |
| References |
|
Projects
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Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: XEN
Published:
Updated: 2026-01-28T16:41:14.803Z
Reserved: 2026-01-14T13:07:36.961Z
Link: CVE-2026-23553
Updated: 2026-01-28T16:12:31.841Z
Status : Received
Published: 2026-01-28T16:16:16.853
Modified: 2026-01-28T17:16:15.990
Link: CVE-2026-23553
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.