{"id":"CVE-2026-59042","kind":"vulnerability","aliases":["CVE-2026-59042"],"related":[],"title":"Linux kernel pKVM: race condition allows out-of-bounds write, local privilege escalation","description":"In __pkvm_pages_to_ppages of mmu.c, there is a possible out-of-bounds write due to a race condition. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.","summary":"A race condition in the pKVM page-conversion function __pkvm_pages_to_ppages in mmu.c allows an out-of-bounds write. A local user with no extra privileges can use it to escalate to higher privileges.","severity":"unknown","cvss":null,"epss":null,"exploited":false,"exploited_at":null,"products":[],"ecosystems":[],"tags":["arm64","infrastructure","kvm","linux-kernel","pkvm"],"not_affected_if":["unknown"],"how_to_check":null,"fix":null,"status":"open","published_at":"2026-11-02T20:17:57+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-11-02T20:35:37+00:00","triaged_at":"2026-11-02T20:36:50+00:00","updated_at":"2026-11-02T20:36:50+00:00","category":"infrastructure","confidence":0.4,"triage":{"at":"2026-11-02T20:36:50Z","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","output":{"fix":"unknown","reach":"local","title":"Linux kernel pKVM: race condition allows out-of-bounds write, local privilege escalation","impact":"high","summary":"A race condition in the pKVM page-conversion function __pkvm_pages_to_ppages in mmu.c allows an out-of-bounds write. A local user with no extra privileges can use it to escalate to higher privileges.","audience":"businesses","category":"infrastructure","nicknames":[],"who_cares":["linux-kernel","pkvm","arm64","kvm"],"confidence":0.4,"fix_status":"unknown","needs_auth":"yes","worst_case":"local user gains kernel-level privileges on the host","analyst_note":"Sources give only the NVD description; check the NVD entry and the upstream kernel commit for affected and fixed versions and whether pKVM is enabled by default.","how_to_check":"- unknown","plain_action":"","needs_analyst":true,"not_affected_if":["unknown"],"who_is_affected":"Affected systems are those running a kernel with pKVM (protected KVM) support, typically Arm64 hypervisor setups. Any local account on such a host could use the flaw to gain elevated rights. The sources do not say which kernel versions or configurations are affected.","user_interaction":"no","needs_special_setup":"unknown","severity_if_unknown":"high"},"cost_usd":0.000645,"input_tokens":4102,"output_tokens":470,"severity_before":"unknown"},"analyst_status":null,"analyst_note":null,"search":"'-2026':16A,19A '-59042':17A,20A 'addit':97C 'allow':6A,44B 'arm64':21B 'bound':10A,49B,80C 'condit':5A,30B,86C 'convers':36B 'could':88C 'cve':15A,18A 'due':82C 'escal':14A,62B,92C 'execut':98C 'exploit':107C 'extra':56B 'function':37B 'higher':64B 'infrastructur':22B 'interact':102C 'kernel':2A,26B 'kvm':23B 'lead':89C 'linux':1A,25B 'linux-kernel':24B 'local':12A,52B,91C 'mmu.c':43B,72C 'need':100C,105C 'out-of-bound':7A,46B,77C 'page':35B,39B,68C 'page-convers':34B 'pkvm':3A,27B,33B,38B,67C 'possibl':76C 'ppage':41B,70C 'privileg':13A,57B,65B,94C,99C 'race':4A,29B,85C 'use':59B 'user':53B,101C 'write':11A,50B,81C","nicknames":[],"mitigations":[],"who_affected":"Affected systems are those running a kernel with pKVM (protected KVM) support, typically Arm64 hypervisor setups. Any local account on such a host could use the flaw to gain elevated rights. The sources do not say which kernel versions or configurations are affected.","tier":"C","verified":{},"analyst_revisit_at":null,"fix_status":"none","audience":"businesses","plain_action":null,"pkeys":[],"ptokens":[],"labels":["arm64","infrastructure","kvm","linuxkernel","pkvm","unknown"],"first_public_at":"2026-11-02T20:17:57+00:00","kev":null,"cvss_vector":null,"cvss_by":null,"poc_count":0,"sources":[{"source":"nvd","external_id":"CVE-2026-59042","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-59042","severity":null,"published_at":"2026-11-02T20:17:57+00:00","modified_at":"2026-11-02T20:17:57+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-11-02T20:35:37+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-11-02T20:35:37+00:00","note":null}],"documents":[],"notice":"Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai"}