Bug 2536463 (CVE-2026-90097)

Summary: CVE-2026-90097 kernel: Drivers: hv: vmbus: Skip VMBus module cleanup for non-nested root partition
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security <prodsec-ir-bot>
Status: NEW --- QA Contact:
Severity: low Docs Contact:
Priority: low    
Version: unspecifiedCC: akhatavk, aos-team-art-private, asdas, dpaolell, jdelft, jupierce, lgarciaa, mbiarnes, ppalepu, ppostler, prdhamdh, rhel-process-autobot, sghai, sidsharm, suppawar, vlaad, watson-tool-maintainers
Target Milestone: ---Keywords: Security
Target Release: ---   
Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
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Doc Text:
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's VMBus module. When the VMBus module is loaded in a non-nested root partition without full initialization, attempting to unload it can trigger a memory fault. This improper cleanup of uninitialized resources results in a kernel panic, leading to a Denial of Service (DoS) for the system.
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oVirt Team: --- RHEL 7.3 requirements from Atomic Host:
Cloudforms Team: --- Target Upstream Version:
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Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-09-17 18:03:21 UTC
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

Drivers: hv: vmbus: Skip VMBus module cleanup for non-nested root partition

The VMBus module initialization function, hv_acpi_init(), currently
does nothing when running in the root partition and root is not nested
in another VM. But the initialization function reports success, so the
VMBus module is indeed loaded. VMBus functionality is not actually
needed, but the VMBus module must be loaded so that hv_vmbus_exists()
can answer correctly. Furthermore, the mshv_root dependency on the
VMBus module is needed as described in the commit message for
840b740a35bf ("mshv: Add conditional VMBus dependency").

Loading the VMBus module without actually initializing it causes
failures if the module should later be unloaded. The module unload code
tries to clean up things that were never initialized, resulting in
memory faults and a panic.

Fix this by having VMBus module exit function perform the same
check for non-nested root partition, and do nothing in such a
case, just like hv_acpi_init().

In the long run, the code that manages the Hyper-V provided SynIC
should be refactored to better coordinate the requirements of
root partition scenarios and normal VM scenarios, and to hopefully
remove the hv_vmbus_exists() dependnecy between mshv_root and
VMBus modules. Preventing the current unload failure scenario is
an expediency until such a refactoring is done.