CVE-2026-98841
kernel: virt: vmgenid: set driver_data before registering notification handlers
Severity
ModerateRed Hat Product Security
CVSS 3.1
Review impact separately from score.
Published · October 18, 2026
Updated · October 24, 2026
Description
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Virtual Machine Generation ID (vmgenid) driver. The driver registers interrupt and notification handlers before fully initializing driver data during startup. If an interrupt or notification is received immediately—such as when restoring a virtual machine from a snapshot—the handler dereferences an uninitialized pointer. This condition triggers a kernel crash, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) of the virtual guest system.
CVSS score applicability
The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.
Mitigation
No mitigation is specified in collected source.
CVSS / CWE
CVSS 3.1 · 4.1CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CWE-476 · NULL Pointer Dereference