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Fencer Vulns
medium 5.8

CVE-2022-2196 json

Speculative execution attacks in KVM VMX

published 2023-01-09 3 y ago modified 2026-08-07 3 mo ago also EUVD-2022-34479

cvss
5.8
version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
0.4%
EPSS 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 29%
public exploits
0
none known

Summary

A regression exists in the Linux Kernel within KVM: nVMX that allowed for speculative execution attacks. L2 can carry out Spectre v2 attacks on L1 due to L1 thinking it doesn't need retpolines or IBPB after running L2 due to KVM (L0) advertising eIBRS support to L1. An attacker at L2 with code execution can execute code on an indirect branch on the host machine. We recommend upgrading to Kernel 6.2 or applying the relevant stable backports (v5.4.233, v5.10.170, v5.15.96, v6.1.14).

Patch / fix

  • Linux Linux Kernel 5.4.233, 5.7.0, 5.8.0, 5.10.170, 5.15.96, 6.1.14, 6.2.0
  • linux Debian 14, Debian 13, Debian 12 6.1.15-1

debian advisories DEBIAN-CVE-2022-2196

  • linux Ubuntu 20.04 LTS 5.4.0-146.163
  • linux Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15.0-69.76
  • linux-aws Ubuntu 20.04 LTS 5.4.0-1099.107
  • linux-aws Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15.0-1033.37
  • linux-gcp Ubuntu 20.04 LTS 5.4.0-1102.111
  • linux-gcp Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15.0-1031.38
  • linux-gke Ubuntu 20.04 LTS 5.4.0-1096.103
  • linux-gke Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15.0-1030.35

ubuntu advisories UBUNTU-CVE-2022-2196

Ubuntu security data © Canonical Ltd., from https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices via OSV; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. CC BY-SA 4.0

  • kernel RHEL 9 5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2
  • perf RHEL 9 5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2
  • rtla RHEL 9 5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2
  • bpftool RHEL 9 7.0.0-284.11.1.el9_2
  • kernel-64k RHEL 9 5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2
  • kernel-core RHEL 9 5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2
  • kernel-tools RHEL 9 5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2
  • python3-perf RHEL 9 5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2

red hat advisories RHSA-2023:2458RHSA-2023:2148RHSA-2024:0930RHSA-2023:2736RHSA-2023:2951

  • kernel-rt Real Time Module 15 SP5, openSUSE Leap 15.5 5.14.21-150500.13.5.1
  • kernel-syms-rt Real Time Module 15 SP5, openSUSE Leap 15.5 5.14.21-150500.13.5.1
  • kernel-rt_debug Real Time Module 15 SP5, openSUSE Leap 15.5 5.14.21-150500.13.5.1
  • kernel-source-rt Real Time Module 15 SP5, openSUSE Leap 15.5 5.14.21-150500.13.5.1
  • kernel-azure SLE Module for Public Cloud 15 SP5, openSUSE Leap 15.5 5.14.21-150500.33.3.1
  • kernel-syms-azure SLE Module for Public Cloud 15 SP5, openSUSE Leap 15.5 5.14.21-150500.33.3.1
  • kernel-source-azure SLE Module for Public Cloud 15 SP5, openSUSE Leap 15.5 5.14.21-150500.33.3.1
  • kernel-rt SLE Micro 5.4, SLE Micro 5.3, Real Time Module 15 SP4 +2 more 5.14.21-150400.15.28.2

suse advisories SUSE-SU-2023:2809-1SUSE-SU-2023:2646-1SUSE-SU-2023:2231-1SUSE-SU-2023:2148-1SUSE-SU-2023:2147-1SUSE-SU-2023:2146-1

  • kernel-rt AlmaLinux 8 4.18.0-477.10.1.rt7.274.el8_8
  • kernel-rt-kvm AlmaLinux 8 4.18.0-477.10.1.rt7.274.el8_8
  • kernel-rt-core AlmaLinux 8 4.18.0-477.10.1.rt7.274.el8_8
  • kernel-rt-modules AlmaLinux 8 4.18.0-477.10.1.rt7.274.el8_8
  • kernel-rt-debug-kvm AlmaLinux 8 4.18.0-477.10.1.rt7.274.el8_8
  • kernel-rt-debug-core AlmaLinux 8 4.18.0-477.10.1.rt7.274.el8_8
  • kernel-rt-debug-modules AlmaLinux 8 4.18.0-477.10.1.rt7.274.el8_8
  • kernel-rt-modules-extra AlmaLinux 8 4.18.0-477.10.1.rt7.274.el8_8

almalinux advisories ALSA-2023:2736ALSA-2023:2951ALSA-2023:2148ALSA-2023:2458

  • kernel CBL-Mariner 2.0 5.15.102.1-1

azure linux advisories AZL-12951

Azure Linux vulnerability data, Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation, from https://github.com/microsoft/AzureLinuxVulnerabilityData via OSV, under the MIT licence; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. MIT

Vendor advisories

What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.

red hat product security vex CVE-2022-2196 updated cvss 5.6

kernel: KVM: nVMX: missing IBPB when exiting from nested guest can lead to Spectre v2 attacks

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 perf, kernel, python-perf, kernel-kdump, kernel-firmware, kernel-bootwrapper, +1 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 perf, kernel, bpftool, kernel-rt, python-perf, kernel-kdump, +8 more
    affected: workaround, no fix planned “This vulnerability can be mitigated by disabling the nested virtualization feature: ``` # modprobe -r kvm_intel # modprobe kvm_intel nested=0 ```”
  • Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.8.6) kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 4.18.0-372.93.1.el8_6, kernel-debuginfo-common-aarch64 4.18.0-372.93.1.el8_6, kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64le 4.18.0-372.93.1.el8_6
    fixed: vendor fix “This vulnerability can be mitigated by disabling the nested virtualization feature: ``` # modprobe -r kvm_intel # modprobe kvm_intel nested=0 ```” RHSA-2024:0930
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) perf 5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2, rtla 5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2, kernel-devel-matched 5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2, kernel-64k-devel-matched 5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2, kernel-debug-devel-matched 5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2, kernel-debuginfo-common-s390x 5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2, +5 more
    fixed: vendor fix “This vulnerability can be mitigated by disabling the nested virtualization feature: ``` # modprobe -r kvm_intel # modprobe kvm_intel nested=0 ```” RHSA-2023:2458
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) perf 4.18.0-477.10.1.el8_8, kernel 4.18.0-477.10.1.el8_8, bpftool 4.18.0-477.10.1.el8_8, kernel-core 4.18.0-477.10.1.el8_8, kernel-tools 4.18.0-477.10.1.el8_8, python3-perf 4.18.0-477.10.1.el8_8, +15 more
    fixed: vendor fix “This vulnerability can be mitigated by disabling the nested virtualization feature: ``` # modprobe -r kvm_intel # modprobe kvm_intel nested=0 ```” RHSA-2023:2951
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) bpftool 7.0.0-284.11.1.el9_2, kernel 5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2, kernel-64k 5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2, kernel-core 5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2, kernel-tools 5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2, python3-perf 5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2, +28 more
    fixed: vendor fix “This vulnerability can be mitigated by disabling the nested virtualization feature: ``` # modprobe -r kvm_intel # modprobe kvm_intel nested=0 ```” RHSA-2023:2458
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.8.6) perf 4.18.0-372.93.1.el8_6, kernel 4.18.0-372.93.1.el8_6, bpftool 4.18.0-372.93.1.el8_6, kernel-core 4.18.0-372.93.1.el8_6, kernel-tools 4.18.0-372.93.1.el8_6, python3-perf 4.18.0-372.93.1.el8_6, +15 more
    fixed: vendor fix “This vulnerability can be mitigated by disabling the nested virtualization feature: ``` # modprobe -r kvm_intel # modprobe kvm_intel nested=0 ```” RHSA-2024:0930
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 8) kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 4.18.0-477.10.1.el8_8, kernel-debuginfo-common-aarch64 4.18.0-477.10.1.el8_8, kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64le 4.18.0-477.10.1.el8_8
    fixed: vendor fix “This vulnerability can be mitigated by disabling the nested virtualization feature: ``` # modprobe -r kvm_intel # modprobe kvm_intel nested=0 ```” RHSA-2023:2951
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 9) kernel-debuginfo-common-s390x 5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2, kernel-debuginfo-common-aarch64 5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2, kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64le 5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2
    fixed: vendor fix “This vulnerability can be mitigated by disabling the nested virtualization feature: ``` # modprobe -r kvm_intel # modprobe kvm_intel nested=0 ```” RHSA-2023:2458
show 5 more
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux NFV (v. 8) kernel-rt 4.18.0-477.10.1.rt7.274.el8_8, kernel-rt-kvm 4.18.0-477.10.1.rt7.274.el8_8, kernel-rt-core 4.18.0-477.10.1.rt7.274.el8_8, kernel-rt-modules 4.18.0-477.10.1.rt7.274.el8_8, kernel-rt-debug-kvm 4.18.0-477.10.1.rt7.274.el8_8, kernel-rt-debug-core 4.18.0-477.10.1.rt7.274.el8_8, +4 more
    fixed: vendor fix “This vulnerability can be mitigated by disabling the nested virtualization feature: ``` # modprobe -r kvm_intel # modprobe kvm_intel nested=0 ```” RHSA-2023:2736
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux NFV (v. 9) kernel-rt 5.14.0-284.11.1.rt14.296.el9_2, kernel-rt-kvm 5.14.0-284.11.1.rt14.296.el9_2, kernel-rt-core 5.14.0-284.11.1.rt14.296.el9_2, kernel-rt-modules 5.14.0-284.11.1.rt14.296.el9_2, kernel-rt-debug-kvm 5.14.0-284.11.1.rt14.296.el9_2, kernel-rt-debug-core 5.14.0-284.11.1.rt14.296.el9_2, +6 more
    fixed: vendor fix “This vulnerability can be mitigated by disabling the nested virtualization feature: ``` # modprobe -r kvm_intel # modprobe kvm_intel nested=0 ```” RHSA-2023:2148
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux RT (v. 8) kernel-rt 4.18.0-477.10.1.rt7.274.el8_8, kernel-rt-core 4.18.0-477.10.1.rt7.274.el8_8, kernel-rt-modules 4.18.0-477.10.1.rt7.274.el8_8, kernel-rt-debug-core 4.18.0-477.10.1.rt7.274.el8_8, kernel-rt-debug-modules 4.18.0-477.10.1.rt7.274.el8_8, kernel-rt-modules-extra 4.18.0-477.10.1.rt7.274.el8_8, +2 more
    fixed: vendor fix “This vulnerability can be mitigated by disabling the nested virtualization feature: ``` # modprobe -r kvm_intel # modprobe kvm_intel nested=0 ```” RHSA-2023:2736
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux RT (v. 9) kernel-rt 5.14.0-284.11.1.rt14.296.el9_2, kernel-rt-core 5.14.0-284.11.1.rt14.296.el9_2, kernel-rt-modules 5.14.0-284.11.1.rt14.296.el9_2, kernel-rt-debug-core 5.14.0-284.11.1.rt14.296.el9_2, kernel-rt-modules-core 5.14.0-284.11.1.rt14.296.el9_2, kernel-rt-debug-modules 5.14.0-284.11.1.rt14.296.el9_2, +4 more
    fixed: vendor fix “This vulnerability can be mitigated by disabling the nested virtualization feature: ``` # modprobe -r kvm_intel # modprobe kvm_intel nested=0 ```” RHSA-2023:2148
  • Red Hat Virtualization 4 Hypervisor for RHEL 8 perf 4.18.0-372.93.1.el8_6, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 4.18.0-372.93.1.el8_6
    fixed: vendor fix “This vulnerability can be mitigated by disabling the nested virtualization feature: ``` # modprobe -r kvm_intel # modprobe kvm_intel nested=0 ```” RHSA-2024:0930

Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf

CISA SSVC

Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical impact
total
Assessed
2 y ago

Exploit prediction

0.35% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 29% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
CNA 3.1 5.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:L
NVD 3.1 8.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected products

  • Linux Linux Kernel

Classification

Weakness
  • CWE-1188 Initialization of a Resource with an Insecure Default
Technology feeds

References

Sources

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.