---
id: CVE-2026-98468
title: >-
  kernel: KVM: arm64: Fix spurious warning for benign stage 2 teardown race
  (CVE-2026-98468)
summary: >-
  A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine)
  subsystem for ARM64. This flaw may allow a local user to cause a Denial of
  Service (DoS) or kernel instability. A race condition occurs when virtual
  machine stage 2 …
severity: low
cvss: 2.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L'
cvssSource: vendor
cwe: CWE-617
vendor: Red Hat
product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
affected:
  - enterprise_linux 10
  - enterprise_linux 9
  - openshift_container_platform 4
published: '2026-10-18'
updated: '2026-10-20'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-20T08:41:59+00:00'
source: CSAF
sourceUrl: 'https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98468.json'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98468.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-98468'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2554901'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98468'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98468'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-98468.mbox
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f44a92633136b409ebb9b7036fceb7e11de60a20'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c23ed110d27ba99cf3a881986514f79aacedf476'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/330346dda3bf5f8a3b06723024f7d906326270cf'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/38b70fc453c3112f1a62583b89903ae41116cc27'
tags:
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00206
epssPercentile: 0.10484
ingestedAt: '2026-10-18T15:45:12.298Z'
---

## Overview

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) subsystem for ARM64. This flaw may allow a local user to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) or kernel instability. A race condition occurs when virtual machine stage 2 memory tables are freed concurrently with host memory migration under memory compaction pressure. When this race occurs, the kernel encounters an unexpected return value during memory unmapping, triggering a spurious warning that can crash hosts configured to panic on warnings.

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Low · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · updated 2026-10-20 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98468.json)

**kernel: KVM: arm64: Fix spurious warning for benign stage 2 teardown race** — rated Low by Red Hat. Released 2026-10-18, updated 2026-10-20.

Affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

No fix planned:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

Not affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9

## Remediation

Fix deferred