---
id: CVE-2026-98841
title: >-
  kernel: virt: vmgenid: set driver_data before registering notification
  handlers (CVE-2026-98841)
summary: >-
  A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Virtual Machine Generation ID (vmgenid)
  driver. The driver registers interrupt and notification handlers before fully
  initializing driver data during startup. If an interrupt or notification is
  receiv…
severity: medium
cvss: 4.1
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cvssSource: vendor
cwe: CWE-476
vendor: Red Hat
product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
affected:
  - enterprise_linux 10
published: '2026-10-18'
updated: '2026-10-23'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-23T21:55:28+00:00'
source: CSAF
sourceUrl: 'https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98841.json'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98841.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-98841'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2555257'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98841'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98841'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-98841.mbox
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/538fe5efaa9704ad820ba34b4f9df135ca873d79'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7a1e8daeaa466c6aaffa223e1afe9cfeece0dd47'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8f42954ad8bf9bdbf574f2c437ad30cb2601f401'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9f8139c6145cf17d690d6c414d43b4c0bef632fb'
tags:
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00168
epssPercentile: 0.06028
ingestedAt: '2026-10-18T16:47:32.466Z'
---

## Overview

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Virtual Machine Generation ID (vmgenid) driver. The driver registers interrupt and notification handlers before fully initializing driver data during startup. If an interrupt or notification is received immediately—such as when restoring a virtual machine from a snapshot—the handler dereferences an uninitialized pointer. This condition triggers a kernel crash, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) of the virtual guest system.

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Moderate · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 · updated 2026-10-23 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98841.json)

**kernel: virt: vmgenid: set driver_data before registering notification handlers** — rated Moderate by Red Hat. Released 2026-10-18, updated 2026-10-23.

Affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10

No fix planned:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10

Not affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

## Remediation

Fix deferred