# CVE-2021-46978: linux: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:  KVM: nVMX: Always make an attempt to map eVMCS a...

CVE-2021-46978 is fixed in linux on 1 platform, first by DEBIAN-CVE-2021-46978, released February 28, 2024. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: High.

- Web page: https://patchblox.com/security/cve/CVE-2021-46978
- Priority: High
- CVSS: 7.8 (high)
- EPSS: 0.0024
- CISA KEV: not listed
- Exploited (vendor report): no
- Publicly disclosed: no
- Published: Feb 28, 2024

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:  KVM: nVMX: Always make an attempt to map eVMCS after migration  When enlightened VMCS is in use and nested state is migrated with vmx_get_nested_state()/vmx_set_nested_state() KVM can't map evmcs page right away: evmcs gpa is not 'struct kvm_vmx_nested_state_hdr' and we can't read it from VP assist page because userspace may decide to restore HV_X64_MSR_VP_ASSIST_PAGE after restoring nested state (and QEMU, for example, does exactly that). To make sure eVMCS is mapped /vmx_set_nested_state() raises KVM_REQ_GET_NESTED_STATE_PAGES request.  Commit f2c7ef3ba955 ("KVM: nSVM: cancel KVM_REQ_GET_NESTED_STATE_PAGES on nested vmexit") added KVM_REQ_GET_NESTED_STATE_PAGES clearing to nested_vmx_vmexit() to make sure MSR permission bitmap is not switched when an immediate exit from L2 to L1 happens right after migration (caused by a pending event, for example). Unfortunately, in the exact same situation we still need to have eVMCS mapped so nested_sync_vmcs12_to_shadow() reflects changes in VMCS12 to eVMCS.  As a band-aid, restore nested_get_evmcs_page() when clearing KVM_REQ_GET_NESTED_STATE_PAGES in nested_vmx_vmexit(). The 'fix' is far from being ideal as we can't easily propagate possible failures and even if we could, this is most likely already too late to do so. The whole 'KVM_REQ_GET_NESTED_STATE_PAGES' idea for mapping eVMCS after migration seems to be fragile as we diverge too much from the 'native' path when vmptr loading happens on vmx_set_nested_state().

## Where it's fixed

| Platform | Product | Fixed in | Fix | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | linux Debian 12.15 (bookworm) | 5.10.38-1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2021-46978](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2021-46978.md) | Feb 28, 2024 |
| Linux | linux Debian 13.5 (trixie) | 5.10.38-1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2021-46978](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2021-46978.md) | Feb 28, 2024 |
| Linux | linux Debian 14 | 5.10.38-1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2021-46978](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2021-46978.md) | Feb 28, 2024 |

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Data as of 2026-11-09T07:25:28Z UTC. Source: Patchblox Patch Radar (https://patchblox.com/security/patch-radar). Patchblox finds out-of-date software on Windows, macOS and Linux and updates it through release rings: https://patchblox.com/demo

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