Highly exploitable, CVE-2025-40026 poses a critical security risk that could lead to severe breaches.
Status: Deferred
Last updated: 🕕 30 Jul 2026, 06:24 UTC
Originally published on: 🕙 28 Oct 2025, 10:15 UTC
Time between publication and last update: 274 days
CVSS Release: version 3
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Secondary
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:H
CVE-2025-40026: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: x86: Don't (re)check L1 intercepts when completing userspace I/O When completing emulation of instruction that generated a userspace exit for I/O, don't recheck L1 intercepts as KVM has already finished that phase of instruction execution, i.e. has already committed to allowing L2 to perform I/O. If L1 (or host userspace) modifies the I/O permission bitmaps during the exit to userspace, KVM will treat the access as being intercepted despite already having emulated the I/O access. Pivot on EMULTYPE_NO_DECODE to detect that KVM is completing emulation. Of the three users of EMULTYPE_NO_DECODE, only complete_emulated_io() (the intended "recipient") can reach the code in question. gp_interception()'s use is mutually exclusive with is_guest_mode(), and complete_emulated_insn_gp() unconditionally pairs EMULTYPE_NO_DECODE with EMULTYPE_SKIP. The bad behavior was detected by a syzkaller program that toggles port I/O interception during the userspace I/O exit, ultimately resulting in a WARN on vcpu->arch.pio.count being non-zero due to KVM no completing emulation of the I/O instruction. WARNING: CPU: 23 PID: 1083 at arch/x86/kvm/x86.c:8039 emulator_pio_in_out+0x154/0x170 [kvm] Modules linked in: kvm_intel kvm irqbypass CPU: 23 UID: 1000 PID: 1083 Comm: repro Not tainted 6.16.0-rc5-c1610d2d66b1-next-vm #74 NONE Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 0.0.0 02/06/2015 RIP: 0010:emulator_pio_in_out+0x154/0x170 [kvm] PKRU: 55555554 Call Trace: <TASK> kvm_fast_pio+0xd6/0x1d0 [kvm] vmx_handle_exit+0x149/0x610 [kvm_intel] kvm_arch_vcpu_ioctl_run+0xda8/0x1ac0 [kvm] kvm_vcpu_ioctl+0x244/0x8c0 [kvm] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x8a/0xd0 do_syscall_64+0x5d/0xc60 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 </TASK>
The exploitability of CVE-2025-40026 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).
CVE-2025-40026 presents an accessible attack vector with minimal effort required. Restricting access controls and implementing security updates are critical to reducing exploitation risks.
A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.
Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.
Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.
Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2025-40026, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.
Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2025-40026, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.
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