CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-46655NVD status: Awaiting Analysis

kvm-guest-drivers-windows: Heap-based Buffer Overflow

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-46655 is a high-severity heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in kvm-guest-drivers-windows from Virtio-win, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. Affected kvm-guest-drivers-windows versions: >= mm210, < mm320. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.18% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Check which version of kvm-guest-drivers-windows you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
  2. Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
Virtio-winkvm-guest-drivers-windows>= mm210, < mm320Not stated

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA (github.com).

Official description

virtio-win provides Windows paravirtualized drivers for QEMU and KVM. From mm210 until mm320, the Viosock driver permits a low-privilege local process to submit an IOCTL_SELECT request with attacker-controlled VIRTIO_VSOCK_SELECT.Fdss[*].fd_count values that overflow the 32-bit sum used by VIOSockSelect for bounds checking. The wrapped sum can pass the FD_SETSIZE check even though an individual descriptor count is much larger than the expected limit. VIOSockSelectCopyFds then iterates using the unchecked count and writes beyond the allocated pPkt->Fds array in the NonPagedPool kernel heap. Successful exploitation can corrupt kernel memory and enable privilege escalation in a Windows guest running the driver. This issue is fixed in mm320.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Heap-based Buffer Overflow

The product writes past the end of a buffer that was allocated on the heap.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Pre-design: Use a language or compiler that performs automatic bounds checking.
  • Use an abstraction library to abstract away risky APIs. Not a complete solution.
  • Use automatic buffer overflow detection mechanisms that are offered by certain compilers or compiler extensions. Examples include: the Microsoft Visual Studio /GS flag, Fedora/Red Hat FORTIFY_SOURCE GCC flag, StackGuard, and ProPolice, which provide various mechanisms including canary-based detection and range/index checking. D3-SFCV (Stack Frame Canary Validation) from D3FEND discusses canary-based detection in detail.

More Heap-based Buffer Overflow vulnerabilities (CWE-122)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: poc, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Heap-based Buffer Overflow vulnerabilities

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