CVE-2026-68329
HighCVSS 8.8Exploitation Probability (EPSS)
Low risk6th percentile - higher than 6% of all known CVEs
Summary
In the Linux kernel, a vulnerability in the iommu/amd driver was found in the iommu_completion_wait() function due to incorrect handling of the need_sync flag. In a multi-CPU scenario, the function could return early without waiting for all previously queued commands to complete, violating the synchronization contract.
Risk Assessment
The risk involves a potential race condition leading to use-after-free of page-table memory when the IOMMU driver frees resources before hardware has finished using them. This could result in system instability, crashes, or in extreme cases privilege escalation.
Recommendation
It is recommended to apply the official patch from the Linux kernel distributor that fixes this issue immediately. Also monitor security advisories and update the system to a kernel version containing the fix.
Original NVD description (English source)
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: iommu/amd: Wait for completion instead of returning early in iommu_completion_wait() need_sync is a per-IOMMU flag shared by all domains and devices behind that IOMMU. It is set whenever a command is queued with sync == true and cleared when a completion-wait (CWAIT) command is queued. However, a cleared need_sync only means that a covering CWAIT has been queued, not that all previously queued commands have actually completed in hardware. iommu_completion_wait() read need_sync locklessly and returned early when it was false. This breaks the "block until all previously queued commands have completed" contract in a multi-CPU scenario: CPU2: queue inv-B => need_sync = true CPU1: queue CWAIT(N); need_sync = false; then wait_on_sem(N) CPU2: read need_sync == false => return 0 (no wait!) CPU2 returns without waiting for any sequence number even though its inv-B may not have completed yet (CWAIT(N), queued after inv-B, has not been signaled). CPU2 then proceeds to, for example, free page-table pages while the IOMMU can still walk stale translations, opening a use-after-free window. This is a logical race in the meaning of the flag, not a memory-visibility issue, so barriers alone do not help. Fix it without losing the optimization of avoiding redundant CWAIT commands: take iommu->lock before testing need_sync, and when it is false do not return early but wait for the last allocated sequence number (cmd_sem_val). Since need_sync == false implies no sync command was queued after the last CWAIT, that CWAIT is FIFO-ordered after every not-yet-completed command, so waiting for its sequence number guarantees all prior commands (possibly queued by another CPU) have completed. The common path with pending work is unchanged and no extra hardware command is issued.

