---
id: CVE-2026-98472
title: >-
  kernel: KVM: SEV: Free have_run_cpus during VM destruction even if VM is no
  longer SEV (CVE-2026-98472)
summary: >-
  A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) AMD
  SEV (Secure Encrypted Virtualization) implementation. This flaw allows a local
  user with permissions to manage virtual machines to cause a denial of service
  (DoS…
severity: low
cvss: 3.3
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L'
cvssSource: vendor
cwe: CWE-772
vendor: Red Hat
product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
affected:
  - enterprise_linux 10
  - openshift_container_platform 4
published: '2026-10-18'
updated: '2026-10-20'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-20T09:37:46+00:00'
source: CSAF
sourceUrl: 'https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98472.json'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98472.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-98472'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2554876'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98472'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98472'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-98472.mbox
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6aef7cf800098749ff5d660222efaf6e01e98c09'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9784e5ca91b37b387f3f414af4340c54f7a63566'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/12c1f6e03f944e399bd2c88441dca5dc702b95a5'
tags:
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00166
epssPercentile: 0.05772
ingestedAt: '2026-10-18T15:45:12.299Z'
---

## Overview

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) AMD SEV (Secure Encrypted Virtualization) implementation. This flaw allows a local user with permissions to manage virtual machines to cause a denial of service (DoS) through memory exhaustion. When an SEV guest is destroyed after undergoing an intra-host migration, the kernel fails to release allocated CPU tracking memory, resulting in an unrecoverable memory leak each time a migrated guest is terminated.

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Low · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · updated 2026-10-20 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98472.json)

**kernel: KVM: SEV: Free have_run_cpus during VM destruction even if VM is no longer SEV** — rated Low by Red Hat. Released 2026-10-18, updated 2026-10-20.

Affected:

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

No fix planned:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- 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