CVE-2026-72291
Race in Linux KVM (s390) try_get_locked_pte enabling host memory corruption.
Is CVE-2026-72291 being exploited?
Not confirmed. CVE-2026-72291 does not appear in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which records only exploitation that has been observed and reported publicly. That is evidence of absence of a report, not evidence the flaw is unattacked. EPSS currently estimates a 0.17% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How severe is CVE-2026-72291?
CVE-2026-72291 is rated Critical with a CVSS score of 9.3. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2026-72291?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2026-72291. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2026-72291 affect?
CVE-2026-72291 affects Linux kernel KVM (s390 / IBM Z). Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
What should I do about CVE-2026-72291?
Apply vendor Linux kernel update for KVM s390 and reboot affected hosts.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
A guest VM on s390 KVM can trigger kernel memory corruption, causing host crash or potentially enabling guest-to-host escape and code execution.
Patch when possible
- affected>= 89fa757931dc0bcd64ef22b28d1d5ad00c5d02f4 and < ce587046baacdeb774b7756ab29b3f594e429004
- affected>= 89fa757931dc0bcd64ef22b28d1d5ad00c5d02f4 and < 5670b7f927f8d98685f3f5873dbf9f8d7a5a63f3
- affected7.1
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.