CVE-2026-90241 — Kernel
HIGHCVE-2026-90241 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.2) vulnerability in Kernel. A fix is available for Kernel — see the affected versions and patch details below.
iommu/vt-d: Tear down scalable-mode context on probe failure
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2026-90241 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 374,847 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
KernelReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Linux packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
iommu/vt-d: Tear down scalable-mode context on probe failure
intel_pasid_setup_sm_context() walks a PCI device’s DMA aliases via pci_for_each_dma_alias() and programs a scalable-mode context entry for each RID. For a device with a dma_alias_mask, the callback is invoked once for the device’s own RID and once for each alias bit, all with the same pci_dev, so device_pasid_table_setup() runs for multiple RIDs.
pci_for_each_dma_alias() stops at the first callback error. Therefore, a failure partway through the walk can leave context entries for already processed RIDs present and still pointing to the device’s PASID table.
On this error path, intel_iommu_probe_device() currently jumps directly to intel_pasid_free_table(), which frees the PASID table without first tearing down those context entries. The IOMMU may then walk a present context entry whose PASID table pointer references freed memory.
intel_iommu_release_device() already performs teardown before freeing the table. Apply the same ordering on the probe failure path.
device_pasid_table_teardown() safely handles RIDs that were never programmed: iommu_context_addr() returns NULL when no context table has been allocated, and clearing the Present bit of an already non-present entry is a no-op. So unwind is safe for both the alias that failed and any aliases not yet reached.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐧Linux | Kernel | ≥ 6.9.0&&< 6.12.110 | 6.12.110 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for Kernel, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update Kernel to 6.12.110 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-90241 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2026-90241 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2026-90241. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-90241 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2026-90241 across Linux dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.