Speculative execution attacks in KVM VMX
Published Jan 9, 2023
8.8
HIGHCVSS 3.1
EPSS 0.29%
Description
A regression exists in the Linux Kernel within KVM: nVMX that allowed for speculative execution attacks. L2 can carry out Spectre v2 attacks on L1 due to L1 thinking it doesn't need retpolines or IBPB after running L2 due to KVM (L0) advertising eIBRS support to L1. An attacker at L2 with code execution can execute code on an indirect branch on the host machine. We recommend upgrading to Kernel 6.2 or applying the relevant stable backports (v5.4.233, v5.10.170, v5.15.96, v6.1.14).
Affected products
-
- Version StatusaffectedConstraints
- Version StatusaffectedConstraints
- Version StatusaffectedConstraints
- Version StatusaffectedConstraints
- Version StatusaffectedConstraints
- Version StatusaffectedConstraints
- Version StatusaffectedConstraints
- Version
-
- Version 5.11.0StatusaffectedConstraints<5.15.96
- Version 5.16.0StatusaffectedConstraints<6.1.14
- Version 5.4.47StatusaffectedConstraints<5.4.233
- Version 5.6.19StatusaffectedConstraints<5.7.0
- Version 5.7.3StatusaffectedConstraints<5.8.0
- Version 5.8.0StatusaffectedConstraints<5.10.170
- Version 6.2.0StatusunaffectedConstraints-
- Version
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
| Vendor | Product | Default status | Versions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux Kernel | unaffected |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Linux | Linux Kernel | unaffected |
|
Configuration 1
- ≥ 5.4.47 · < 5.4.233
- ≥ 5.6.19 · < 5.7
- ≥ 5.7.3 · < 5.10.170
- ≥ 5.11 · < 5.15.96
- ≥ 5.16 · < 6.1.14
Configuration 2
- 10.0
No data.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
kernel-0:4.18.0-477.10.1.el8_8
Fixed · RHSA-2023:2951
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
kernel-rt-0:4.18.0-477.10.1.rt7.274.el8_8
Fixed · RHSA-2023:2736
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Support
kernel-0:4.18.0-372.93.1.el8_6
Fixed · RHSA-2024:0930
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
kernel-0:5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2
Fixed · RHSA-2023:2458
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
kernel-0:5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2
Fixed · RHSA-2023:2458
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
kernel-rt-0:5.14.0-284.11.1.rt14.296.el9_2
Fixed · RHSA-2023:2148
Red Hat Virtualization 4 for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
kernel-0:4.18.0-372.93.1.el8_6
Fixed · RHSA-2024:0930
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
kernel
Out of support scope
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
kernel
Out of support scope
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
kernel-rt
Out of support scope
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | kernel-0:4.18.0-477.10.1.el8_8 | Fixed | RHSA-2023:2951 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | kernel-rt-0:4.18.0-477.10.1.rt7.274.el8_8 | Fixed | RHSA-2023:2736 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Support | kernel-0:4.18.0-372.93.1.el8_6 | Fixed | RHSA-2024:0930 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | kernel-0:5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2 | Fixed | RHSA-2023:2458 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | kernel-0:5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2 | Fixed | RHSA-2023:2458 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | kernel-rt-0:5.14.0-284.11.1.rt14.296.el9_2 | Fixed | RHSA-2023:2148 |
| Red Hat Virtualization 4 for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | kernel-0:4.18.0-372.93.1.el8_6 | Fixed | RHSA-2024:0930 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | kernel | Out of support scope | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | kernel | Out of support scope | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | kernel-rt | Out of support scope | n/a |
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
Red Hat statement
Red Hat currently provides the nested virtualization feature as a Technology Preview. Nested virtualization is therefore unsupported for production use. For more information please refer to https://access.redhat.com/solutions/21101 and https://access.redhat.com/support/offerings/techpreview.
Red Hat mitigation
This vulnerability can be mitigated by disabling the nested virtualization feature: ``` # modprobe -r kvm_intel # modprobe kvm_intel nested=0 ```
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0 score for this CVE.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
2 other sources (CVE.org, Red Hat) ▾
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:L
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
No CVSS v3.0 score for this CVE.
No CVSS v2.0 score for this CVE.
This CVE is not in the KEV list.
CISA SSVC (Vulnrichment)
Stakeholder-Specific Vulnerability Categorization from CISA ADP.
Exploitation
NoneAutomatable
NoTechnical Impact
TotalDecision
n/aAssessed Aug 1, 2024 · SSVC 2.0.3
Estimated probability of exploitation in the wild in the next 30 days (FIRST EPSS). As of Oct 1, 2026.
Score over time
2023–2026- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Percentile over time
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Table of values (9 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 0.29% (0.00286) | 19.06th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 0.29% (0.00285) | 19.96th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 0.03% (0.00025) | 4.16th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 12, 2024 | 0.04% (0.00045) | 17.93th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Jun 27, 2024 | 0.04% (0.00043) | 9.93th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| May 3, 2023 | 0.04% (0.00043) | 7.93th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 0.04% (0.00042) | 5.63th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 1.00% (0.01005) | 38.10th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Jan 10, 2023 | 1.00% (0.01005) | 37.30th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
References (12)
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2022-2196 Vendor Advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2160023 Issue Tracking
- https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git/commit/?id=1b0cafaae8884726c597caded50af185ffc13349
- https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git/commit/?id=63fada296062e91ad9f871970d4e7f19e21a6a15
- https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git/commit/?id=6b539a7dbb49250f92515c2ba60aea239efc9e35
- https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git/commit/?id=f93a1a5bdcdd122aae0a3eab7a52c15b71fb725b
- https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=2e7eab81425ad6c875f2ed47c0ce01e78afc38a5 Mailing ListPatchVendor Advisory
- https://kernel.dance/#2e7eab81425a PatchThird Party Advisory
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/05/msg00005.html Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-2196
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230223-0002/
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-2196
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.