In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
powerpc: Fix virt_addr_valid() for 64-bit Book3E & 32-bit
mpe: On 64-bit Book3E vmalloc space starts at 0x8000000000000000.
Because of the way __pa() works we have: __pa(0x8000000000000000) == 0, and therefore virt_to_pfn(0x8000000000000000) == 0, and therefore virt_addr_valid(0x8000000000000000) == true
Which is wrong, virt_addr_valid() should be false for vmalloc space. In fact all vmalloc addresses that alias with a valid PFN will return true from virt_addr_valid(). That can cause bugs with hardened usercopy as described below by Kefeng Wang:
When running ethtool eth0 on 64-bit Book3E, a BUG occurred:
usercopy: Kernel memory exposure attempt detected from SLUB object not in SLUB page?! (offset 0, size 1048)! kernel BUG at mm/usercopy.c:99 ... usercopy_abort+0x64/0xa0 (unreliable) __check_heap_object+0x168/0x190 __check_object_size+0x1a0/0x200 dev_ethtool+0x2494/0x2b20 dev_ioctl+0x5d0/0x770 sock_do_ioctl+0xf0/0x1d0 sock_ioctl+0x3ec/0x5a0 __se_sys_ioctl+0xf0/0x160 system_call_exception+0xfc/0x1f0 system_call_common+0xf8/0x200
The code shows below,
data = vzalloc(array_size(gstrings.len, ETH_GSTRING_LEN)); copy_to_user(useraddr, data, gstrings.len * ETH_GSTRING_LEN))
The data is alloced by vmalloc(), virt_addr_valid(ptr) will return true on 64-bit Book3E, which leads to the panic.
As commit 4dd7554a6456 ("powerpc/64: Add VIRTUAL_BUG_ON checks for __va and __pa addresses") does, make sure the virt addr above PAGE_OFFSET in the virt_addr_valid() for 64-bit, also add upper limit check to make sure the virt is below high_memory.
Meanwhile, for 32-bit PAGE_OFFSET is the virtual address of the start of lowmem, high_memory is the upper low virtual address, the check is suitable for 32-bit, this will fix the issue mentioned in commit 602946ec2f90 ("powerpc: Set max_mapnr correctly") too.
On 32-bit there is a similar problem with high memory, that was fixed in commit 602946ec2f90 ("powerpc: Set max_mapnr correctly"), but that commit breaks highmem and needs to be reverted.
We can't easily fix __pa(), we have code that relies on its current behaviour. So for now add extra checks to virt_addr_valid().
For 64-bit Book3S the extra checks are not necessary, the combination of virt_to_pfn() and pfn_valid() should yield the correct result, but they are harmless.
[mpe: Add additional change log detail]
CVSS Details
- CVSS 3.1 Base Score: 5.5
- CVSS 3.1 Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H)
Covered by Rapid7
| Product | Vendor Advisory | Solution File | Added | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debian | — | Upgrade linux | Feb 27, 2025 | Feb 27, 2025 |
| Ubuntu | — | Upgrade linux-raspi-5.4Upgrade linux-azureUpgrade linux-ibmUpgrade linux-realtimeUpgrade linux-awsUpgrade linux-hwe-5.4Upgrade linux-azure-5.4Upgrade linux-aws-fipsUpgrade linux-iotUpgrade linux-hwe-5.15Upgrade linux-azure-5.15Upgrade linux-gcp-fipsUpgrade linux-intel-iotg-5.15Upgrade linux-gcp-5.4Upgrade linux-kvmUpgrade linux-bluefieldUpgrade linux-oracleUpgrade linux-aws-5.4Upgrade linux-gkeUpgrade linux-raspiUpgrade linux-azure-fipsUpgrade linux-lowlatencyUpgrade linux-gcpUpgrade linux-azure-fde-5.15Upgrade linux-ibm-5.4Upgrade linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.15Upgrade linux-intel-iotgUpgrade linuxUpgrade linux-oracle-5.4Upgrade linux-fips | Mar 3, 2025 | Feb 26, 2025 |
| Vmware Photon_os | — | Use 'tdnf update' to upgrade all packages to the latest version. | May 27, 2026 | Feb 26, 2025 |
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