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-livepatch-5.10.93-87.444Upgrade python-perf-debuginfoUpgrade kernel-toolsUpgrade kernel-tools-debuginfoUpgrade kernel-develUpgrade python-perfUpgrade perf-debuginfoUpgrade kernel-debuginfoUpgrade kernel-headersUpgrade perfUpgrade kernel-debuginfo-common-aarch64Upgrade bpftool-debuginfoUpgrade kernel-tools-develUpgrade bpftoolUpgrade kernelUpgrade kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 | 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 gfs2-kmp-64kbUpgrade dtb-amdUpgrade cluster-md-kmp-azureUpgrade dtb-amlogicUpgrade kernel-64kb-develUpgrade dtb-mediatekUpgrade kernel-devel-rtUpgrade reiserfs-kmp-rtUpgrade kernel-syms-azureUpgrade dtb-hisiliconUpgrade gfs2-kmp-rtUpgrade kernel-develUpgrade kernel-default-optionalUpgrade kernel-kvmsmall-develUpgrade kernel-devel-azureUpgrade dlm-kmp-defaultUpgrade dtb-qcomUpgrade dtb-apmUpgrade kernel-obs-qaUpgrade kselftests-kmp-defaultUpgrade kernel-debug-livepatch-develUpgrade dlm-kmp-azureUpgrade ocfs2-kmp-rtUpgrade kernel-rt-develUpgrade kselftests-kmp-rtUpgrade reiserfs-kmp-defaultUpgrade dtb-rockchipUpgrade kernel-zfcpdumpUpgrade dtb-xilinxUpgrade kernel-64kb-livepatch-develUpgrade kernel-macrosUpgrade dtb-armUpgrade kernel-kvmsmallUpgrade kernel-default-base-rebuildUpgrade cluster-md-kmp-defaultUpgrade kernel-syms-rtUpgrade kernel-debugUpgrade kernel-defaultUpgrade kernel-azure-vdsoUpgrade kernel-azure-livepatch-develUpgrade kernel-debug-develUpgrade reiserfs-kmp-azureUpgrade kernel-rt-livepatch-develUpgrade kernel-rt-livepatchUpgrade kernel-rt_debug-vdsoUpgrade kernel-symsUpgrade dtb-socionextUpgrade kernel-default-extraUpgrade kernel-docsUpgrade kernel-64kb-optionalUpgrade kernel-docs-htmlUpgrade kernel-obs-buildUpgrade kernel-source-azureUpgrade dtb-amazonUpgrade cluster-md-kmp-rtUpgrade kernel-rtUpgrade dtb-broadcomUpgrade dlm-kmp-rtUpgrade kernel-default-baseUpgrade kernel-azure-optionalUpgrade kernel-default-livepatchUpgrade kernel-default-vdsoUpgrade dtb-freescaleUpgrade dtb-caviumUpgrade dlm-kmp-64kbUpgrade dtb-nvidiaUpgrade dtb-sprdUpgrade dtb-marvellUpgrade reiserfs-kmp-64kbUpgrade ocfs2-kmp-defaultUpgrade kernel-source-rtUpgrade kernel-kvmsmall-vdsoUpgrade gfs2-kmp-azureUpgrade kernel-default-livepatch-develUpgrade dtb-alteraUpgrade kernel-kvmsmall-livepatch-develUpgrade kernel-default-develUpgrade kernel-azure-extraUpgrade dtb-lgUpgrade dtb-allwinnerUpgrade kernel-azureUpgrade kernel-debug-vdsoUpgrade kernel-64kb-extraUpgrade gfs2-kmp-defaultUpgrade dtb-renesasUpgrade kernel-64kbUpgrade kselftests-kmp-azureUpgrade kernel-sourceUpgrade ocfs2-kmp-azureUpgrade kernel-rt_debugUpgrade ocfs2-kmp-64kbUpgrade kernel-source-vanillaUpgrade kernel-rt-extraUpgrade cluster-md-kmp-64kbUpgrade kernel-rt-vdsoUpgrade kernel-rt_debug-develUpgrade kernel-rt_debug-livepatch-develUpgrade dtb-exynosUpgrade dtb-appleUpgrade kselftests-kmp-64kbUpgrade kernel-rt-optionalUpgrade kernel-azure-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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