Veeam Warns of AMD EPYC Boot Failures
Veeam says its Software Appliance virtual machines fail to boot on some AMD EPYC processors and is pushing a kernel fix.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Cybersecurity
Veeam warned customers that Software Appliance virtual machines fail to boot on hosts with certain AMD EPYC processors, including the 7262, 7302, and 7F72. The company also disclosed a critical Linux kernel vulnerability, CVE-2026-98432, and began pushing patched kernels to affected systems.
Why it matters
The Software Appliance runs a kernel health test in FIPS mode during early boot, and that test intermittently fails on the affected chips, causing a kernel panic. The disclosed flaw allows remote unauthenticated attackers to execute commands as root on servers running Multipath TCP listeners.
The known issue affects Veeam Software Appliance version 13.1 and later on AMD EPYC 7262, 7302, and 7F72 processors, where the jitterentropy health test intermittently fails and halts boot with a kernel panic. Veeam has fixed CVE-2026-98432 only for some impacted components, and the remaining scope is not specified in the source.
The players
Veeam
Veeam is a data backup and recovery software company whose products are used by more than 550,000 customers worldwide.
The details
Veeam is pushing the patched kernel to affected systems either as a private fix or through the Veeam Updater. CVE-2026-98432 is a flaw in the IPv4 TCP networking code that allows remote unauthenticated attackers to execute commands as root on servers running Multipath TCP listeners.
Timeline
Wednesday, November 4, 2026: Veeam issued the Software Appliance boot-failure advisory.
Friday, November 6, 2026: Veeam disclosed the CVE-2026-98432 vulnerability.
Under the Hood
The failure traces to the Linux kernel's jitterentropy health test, which runs in FIPS mode during early boot to satisfy federal cryptographic certification requirements. Because that check is hardwired into the kernel, a hardware-specific timing quirk in certain AMD EPYC chips can halt boot entirely.
Administrators running Veeam Software Appliance 13.1 or later on AMD EPYC 7262, 7302, or 7F72 hosts may find their virtual machines failing to boot. Organizations should apply the patched kernel that Veeam is pushing through the Veeam Updater or as a private fix.
The takeaway
Teams running backup infrastructure on AMD EPYC hardware should check their Software Appliance versions and confirm the kernel patch has been applied before the next maintenance window. Patch deployment for kernel-level flaws should be verified rather than assumed.
Further reading
Explore more Cybersecurity coverage to see how kernel flaws and patch rollouts like this one are handled across the industry.
