In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
sched/scs: Reset task stack state in bringup_cpu()
To hot unplug a CPU, the idle task on that CPU calls a few layers of C code before finally leaving the kernel. When KASAN is in use, poisoned shadow is left around for each of the active stack frames, and when shadow call stacks are in use. When shadow call stacks (SCS) are in use the task's saved SCS SP is left pointing at an arbitrary point within the task's shadow call stack.
When a CPU is offlined than onlined back into the kernel, this stale state can adversely affect execution. Stale KASAN shadow can alias new stackframes and result in bogus KASAN warnings. A stale SCS SP is effectively a memory leak, and prevents a portion of the shadow call stack being used. Across a number of hotplug cycles the idle task's entire shadow call stack can become unusable.
We previously fixed the KASAN issue in commit:
e1b77c92981a5222 ("sched/kasan: remove stale KASAN poison after hotplug")
... by removing any stale KASAN stack poison immediately prior to onlining a CPU.
Subsequently in commit:
f1a0a376ca0c4ef1 ("sched/core: Initialize the idle task with preemption disabled")
... the refactoring left the KASAN and SCS cleanup in one-time idle thread initialization code rather than something invoked prior to each CPU being onlined, breaking both as above.
We fixed SCS (but not KASAN) in commit:
63acd42c0d4942f7 ("sched/scs: Reset the shadow stack when idle_task_exit")
... but as this runs in the context of the idle task being offlined it's potentially fragile.
To fix these consistently and more robustly, reset the SCS SP and KASAN shadow of a CPU's idle task immediately before we online that CPU in bringup_cpu(). This ensures the idle task always has a consistent state when it is running, and removes the need to so so when exiting an idle task.
Whenever any thread is created, dup_task_struct() will give the task a stack which is free of KASAN shadow, and initialize the task's SCS SP, so there's no need to specially initialize either for idle thread within init_idle(), as this was only necessary to handle hotplug cycles.
I've tested this on arm64 with:
* gcc 11.1.0, defconfig +KASAN_INLINE, KASAN_STACK * clang 12.0.0, defconfig +KASAN_INLINE, KASAN_STACK, SHADOW_CALL_STACK
... offlining and onlining CPUS with:
| while true; do | for C in /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu*/online; do | echo 0 > $C; | echo 1 > $C; | done | done
CVSS Details
- CVSS 3.1 Base Score: 7.8
- CVSS 3.1 Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H)
Covered by Rapid7
| Product | Vendor Advisory | Solution File | Added | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux Ami 2 | — | Upgrade kernel-tools-debuginfoUpgrade python-perf-debuginfoUpgrade kernel-develUpgrade kernel-toolsUpgrade perfUpgrade kernel-debuginfo-common-aarch64Upgrade kernel-debuginfoUpgrade kernel-headersUpgrade python-perfUpgrade bpftool-debuginfoUpgrade kernel-livepatch-5.10.93-87.444Upgrade perf-debuginfoUpgrade bpftoolUpgrade kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64Upgrade kernel-tools-develUpgrade kernel | Mar 14, 2025 | May 24, 2024 |
| Debian | — | Upgrade linux | Jul 30, 2024 | May 24, 2024 |
| Redhat_linux | — | No solution exists | Jul 9, 2025 | May 24, 2024 |
| Suse | — | Upgrade dtb-qcomUpgrade dlm-kmp-defaultUpgrade kernel-devel-azureUpgrade kselftests-kmp-rtUpgrade dtb-apmUpgrade kernel-macrosUpgrade kernel-develUpgrade reiserfs-kmp-defaultUpgrade dtb-armUpgrade kernel-rt-develUpgrade kernel-syms-azureUpgrade kernel-rt_debug-vdsoUpgrade kernel-default-extraUpgrade kernel-default-optionalUpgrade kernel-obs-qaUpgrade kernel-symsUpgrade dlm-kmp-azureUpgrade kernel-debug-livepatch-develUpgrade kselftests-kmp-defaultUpgrade dtb-xilinxUpgrade kernel-64kb-livepatch-develUpgrade kernel-zfcpdumpUpgrade ocfs2-kmp-rtUpgrade kernel-azure-livepatch-develUpgrade kernel-rt-livepatch-develUpgrade kernel-debugUpgrade kernel-azure-vdsoUpgrade reiserfs-kmp-azureUpgrade reiserfs-kmp-rtUpgrade dtb-amlogicUpgrade kernel-64kb-develUpgrade dtb-socionextUpgrade kernel-syms-rtUpgrade cluster-md-kmp-defaultUpgrade dtb-amdUpgrade kernel-devel-rtUpgrade dtb-mediatekUpgrade dtb-hisiliconUpgrade cluster-md-kmp-azureUpgrade kernel-default-base-rebuildUpgrade dtb-rockchipUpgrade kernel-kvmsmallUpgrade gfs2-kmp-64kbUpgrade kernel-rt-livepatchUpgrade kernel-kvmsmall-develUpgrade kernel-64kb-optionalUpgrade kernel-defaultUpgrade kernel-debug-develUpgrade gfs2-kmp-rtUpgrade kernel-docsUpgrade kernel-kvmsmall-vdsoUpgrade dtb-alteraUpgrade kselftests-kmp-64kbUpgrade kernel-rt-optionalUpgrade cluster-md-kmp-64kbUpgrade dtb-broadcomUpgrade kernel-obs-buildUpgrade kernel-default-develUpgrade dtb-caviumUpgrade kernel-azureUpgrade kselftests-kmp-azureUpgrade kernel-source-azureUpgrade kernel-default-baseUpgrade dtb-exynosUpgrade kernel-source-vanillaUpgrade kernel-rt_debugUpgrade ocfs2-kmp-64kbUpgrade kernel-azure-optionalUpgrade kernel-rt-vdsoUpgrade cluster-md-kmp-rtUpgrade dtb-amazonUpgrade dtb-allwinnerUpgrade kernel-kvmsmall-livepatch-develUpgrade dlm-kmp-rtUpgrade kernel-rt_debug-livepatch-develUpgrade kernel-default-vdsoUpgrade kernel-rt-extraUpgrade kernel-64kb-extraUpgrade kernel-default-livepatchUpgrade kernel-64kbUpgrade kernel-sourceUpgrade ocfs2-kmp-azureUpgrade kernel-azure-develUpgrade dtb-freescaleUpgrade gfs2-kmp-azureUpgrade kernel-source-rtUpgrade kernel-default-livepatch-develUpgrade dtb-renesasUpgrade dtb-nvidiaUpgrade gfs2-kmp-defaultUpgrade dtb-marvellUpgrade dlm-kmp-64kbUpgrade kernel-docs-htmlUpgrade reiserfs-kmp-64kbUpgrade ocfs2-kmp-defaultUpgrade kernel-debug-vdsoUpgrade dtb-sprdUpgrade kernel-azure-extraUpgrade dtb-lgUpgrade kernel-rtUpgrade dtb-appleUpgrade kernel-rt_debug-devel | Aug 9, 2024 | May 24, 2024 |
| Vmware Photon_os | — | Use 'tdnf update' to upgrade all packages to the latest version. | Jan 20, 2025 | May 24, 2024 |
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