CVE-2026-79611: VMX: VMentry failure with branch tracing and blocked states

Is it exploited?

Not on CISA's list. CISA has not added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog as of 29 Oct 2026. If CISA adds it, this page shows it as known exploited.

How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?

0.2%

Up from 0.1% on 22 Oct 2026.

EPSS score, percentile 5.2 of all scored records. A probability estimated by FIRST, not a report of exploitation.

How severe?

5.5 Medium

CVSS v3.1 base score, from CISA's enrichment of the record

What should I do?

CISA has set no required action, because the vulnerability is not in KEV.

The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.

Which versions are affected?

Versions by product

Source: CISA KEV 2026.10.29, as of 29 Oct 2026; FIRST EPSS, as of 29 Oct 2026; CVE List, as of 29 Oct 2026. About the data.

What to do

Workaround (from the CVE record)

Running only PV guests will avoid this vulnerability. Running HVM guests on only AMD or Hygon hardware will also avoid this vulnerability.

Advisories and patches

The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.

This summary is based on the CVE record as of 29 Oct 2026. Check the vendor's advisory before you act: affected versions and fixes can change.

Affected products and versions

As listed in the CVE record.

Versions not listed are: unknown.

Source: CVE List, as of 29 Oct 2026. About the data.

About this vulnerability

For XSA-308 logic was introduced, as VMX VMEntry checks do not like the exact combination of state which occurs when #DB in intercepted, Single Stepping is active, and blocked by STI/MovSS is active, despite this being a legitimate state to be in. The resulting VMEntry failure is fatal to the guest. Sadly there is another special sub-case of the above, with branch tracing enabled. In that case…

Summary: CVE record, as of 29 Oct 2026.

• CISA has not added CVE-2026-79611 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, as of 29 Oct 2026.
• The CVE record was published on 13 Oct 2026.
• The CVE record carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (Medium), taken from CISA's enrichment of the record.
• FIRST's EPSS model puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.2% (percentile 5.2), as of 29 Oct 2026. EPSS is a statistical estimate, not a report of exploitation.
• CISA's SSVC assessment in the CVE record: exploitation none, automatable no, technical impact partial.
• The credits in the CVE record name Anthropic (Claude) as finder.

Source: CISA KEV 2026.10.29, as of 29 Oct 2026; CVE List, as of 29 Oct 2026; FIRST EPSS, as of 29 Oct 2026. About the data.

Description

VMX: VMentry failure with branch tracing and blocked states

For XSA-308 logic was introduced, as VMX VMEntry checks do not like the exact combination of state which occurs when #DB in intercepted, Single Stepping is active, and blocked by STI/MovSS is active, despite this being a legitimate state to be in. The resulting VMEntry failure is fatal to the guest. Sadly there is another special sub-case of the above, with branch tracing enabled. In that case the prior adjustment would still cause a VMentry failure, as before fatal to the guest.

Source: CVE List, as of 29 Oct 2026. About the data.

Timeline