Answer in brief
CVE-2026-99017 records a High severity (CVSS 7.0) vulnerability in riscv: errata: select RISCV_ALTERNATIVE_EARLY for THEAD GHOSTWRITE. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
Analysis pending evidence review
HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.
CVSS is 7.0. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.
Analysis status
Analysis pending evidence review
Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.
The current feed maps Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
| Package | Affected range | Fixed version |
|---|---|---|
| Linux/Linuxgeneric | >=4bf97069239bcfca9840936313c7ac35a6e04488 <fa465a7819ecbe5801b78c088d3cadaf2664b8ca || >=4bf97069239bcfca9840936313c7ac35a6e04488 <7fee577a2fa78b9a76da015beec1ccf978746ebb || >=4bf97069239bcfca9840936313c7ac35a6e04488 <298510bbc7c3017c0faf481c6ea66f1065b657b4 | fa465a7819ecbe5801b78c088d3cadaf2664b8ca, 7fee577a2fa78b9a76da015beec1ccf978746ebb, 298510bbc7c3017c0faf481c6ea66f1065b657b4 |
| Linux/Linuxgeneric | 6.14 | Not reported |
Published upstream
Oct 23, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordSource modified
Oct 24, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordFirst seen by HOL
Oct 23, 2026
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: riscv: errata: select RISCV_ALTERNATIVE_EARLY for THEAD GHOSTWRITE errata_probe_ghostwrite() only marks the CPU as vulnerable when it is called at the RISCV_ALTERNATIVES_EARLY_BOOT stage, and the mitigation in ghostwrite_enable_mitigation() only takes effect if the vulnerable state was recorded before the boot alternatives are patched. The early boot stage is only executed when CONFIG_RISCV_ALTERNATIVE_EARLY is enabled, which currently is only selected by ERRATA_THEAD_MAE. In a kernel built with ERRATA_THEAD_GHOSTWRITE=y but ERRATA_THEAD_MAE=n, the early alternatives never run, so ghostwrite_state is never set to VULNERABLE: ghostwrite_enable_mitigation() returns false, xtheadvector remains enabled, and sysfs reports "Not affected" on a vulnerable T-Head C9xx CPU. Select RISCV_ALTERNATIVE_EARLY from ERRATA_THEAD_GHOSTWRITE so that the vulnerability is detected in the early boot stage and the default mitigation is applied.
Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.