In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
mm, slub: avoid zeroing kmalloc redzone
Since commit 946fa0dbf2d8 ("mm/slub: extend redzone check to extra allocated kmalloc space than requested"), setting orig_size treats the wasted space (object_size - orig_size) as a redzone. However with init_on_free=1 we clear the full object->size, including the redzone.
Additionally we clear the object metadata, including the stored orig_size, making it zero, which makes check_object() treat the whole object as a redzone.
These issues lead to the following BUG report with "slub_debug=FUZ init_on_free=1":
[ 0.000000] ============================================================================= [ 0.000000] BUG kmalloc-8 (Not tainted): kmalloc Redzone overwritten [ 0.000000] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ 0.000000] [ 0.000000] 0xffff000010032858-0xffff00001003285f @offset=2136. First byte 0x0 instead of 0xcc [ 0.000000] FIX kmalloc-8: Restoring kmalloc Redzone 0xffff000010032858-0xffff00001003285f=0xcc [ 0.000000] Slab 0xfffffdffc0400c80 objects=36 used=23 fp=0xffff000010032a18 flags=0x3fffe0000000200(workingset|node=0|zone=0|lastcpupid=0x1ffff) [ 0.000000] Object 0xffff000010032858 @offset=2136 fp=0xffff0000100328c8 [ 0.000000] [ 0.000000] Redzone ffff000010032850: cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc ........ [ 0.000000] Object ffff000010032858: cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc ........ [ 0.000000] Redzone ffff000010032860: cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc ........ [ 0.000000] Padding ffff0000100328b4: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ............ [ 0.000000] CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/0 Not tainted 6.11.0-rc3-next-20240814-00004-g61844c55c3f4 #144 [ 0.000000] Hardware name: NXP i.MX95 19X19 board (DT) [ 0.000000] Call trace: [ 0.000000] dump_backtrace+0x90/0xe8 [ 0.000000] show_stack+0x18/0x24 [ 0.000000] dump_stack_lvl+0x74/0x8c [ 0.000000] dump_stack+0x18/0x24 [ 0.000000] print_trailer+0x150/0x218 [ 0.000000] check_object+0xe4/0x454 [ 0.000000] free_to_partial_list+0x2f8/0x5ec
To address the issue, use orig_size to clear the used area. And restore the value of orig_size after clear the remaining area.
When CONFIG_SLUB_DEBUG not defined, (get_orig_size()' directly returns s->object_size. So when using memset to init the area, the size can simply be orig_size, as orig_size returns object_size when CONFIG_SLUB_DEBUG not enabled. And orig_size can never be bigger than object_size.
| Product | Vendor Advisory | Solution File | Added | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debian | — | Upgrade linux | Jul 27, 2026 | Jul 27, 2026 |
| Redhat_linux | — | No solution existsUpgrade kernelUpgrade kernel-rt | May 15, 2025 | Oct 21, 2024 |
| Ubuntu | — | Upgrade linux-image-oracle-lts-24.04Upgrade linux-image-6.8.0-1022-nvidia-64kUpgrade linux-image-ibm-classicUpgrade linux-image-generic-lpaeUpgrade linux-image-6.8.0-54-generic-64kUpgrade linux-image-generic-hwe-24.04Upgrade linux-image-oracleUpgrade linux-image-oem-22.04bUpgrade linux-image-nvidia-64k-6.8Upgrade linux-image-6.11.0-1009-azure-fdeUpgrade linux-image-virtual-hwe-24.04Upgrade linux-image-6.8.0-57-generic-64kUpgrade linux-image-6.8.0-1022-nvidia-lowlatency-64kUpgrade linux-image-azure-lts-24.04Upgrade linux-image-nvidia-64k-hwe-22.04Upgrade linux-image-6.11.0-1011-oracle-64kUpgrade linux-image-6.8.0-1019-raspiUpgrade linux-image-generic-64k-hwe-22.04Upgrade linux-image-virtual-hwe-22.04Upgrade linux-image-nvidia-64kUpgrade linux-image-6.8.0-1022-nvidiaUpgrade linux-image-oem-24.04Upgrade linux-image-6.11.0-1011-oracleUpgrade linux-image-6.11.0-1005-realtimeUpgrade linux-image-nvidiaUpgrade linux-image-virtualUpgrade linux-image-gkeop-6.8Upgrade linux-image-generic-hwe-22.04Upgrade linux-image-oracle-64kUpgrade linux-image-lowlatency-64k-hwe-22.04Upgrade linux-image-6.8.0-1024-gcp-64kUpgrade linux-image-6.8.0-54-lowlatency-64kUpgrade linux-image-6.11.0-1010-lowlatency-64kUpgrade linux-image-6.11.0-18-genericUpgrade linux-image-6.11.0-1009-gcpUpgrade linux-image-lowlatencyUpgrade linux-image-ibmUpgrade linux-image-gkeUpgrade linux-image-oem-24.04aUpgrade linux-image-6.8.0-54-lowlatencyUpgrade linux-image-oem-22.04aUpgrade linux-image-6.8.0-1006-gkeopUpgrade linux-image-6.8.0-1019-gkeUpgrade linux-image-6.8.0-54-genericUpgrade linux-image-kvmUpgrade linux-image-oem-24.04bUpgrade linux-image-gcpUpgrade linux-image-ibm-lts-24.04Upgrade linux-image-6.8.0-1024-gcpUpgrade linux-image-6.11.0-18-generic-64kUpgrade linux-image-6.8.0-1024-oemUpgrade linux-image-azure-fdeUpgrade linux-image-6.11.0-1009-awsUpgrade linux-image-6.8.0-1022-nvidia-lowlatencyUpgrade linux-image-6.11.0-1015-oemUpgrade linux-image-lowlatency-64kUpgrade linux-image-6.8.0-57-genericUpgrade linux-image-nvidia-lowlatencyUpgrade linux-image-6.8.0-1025-azureUpgrade linux-image-awsUpgrade linux-image-raspiUpgrade linux-image-azure-fde-lts-24.04Upgrade linux-image-gcp-lts-24.04Upgrade linux-image-lowlatency-hwe-22.04Upgrade linux-image-nvidia-hwe-22.04Upgrade linux-image-6.8.0-1025-azure-fdeUpgrade linux-image-realtimeUpgrade linux-image-generic-64k-hwe-24.04Upgrade linux-image-6.8.0-1022-ibmUpgrade linux-image-oem-22.04cUpgrade linux-image-gcp-64kUpgrade linux-image-nvidia-6.8Upgrade linux-image-oem-22.04Upgrade linux-image-gkeopUpgrade linux-image-6.8.0-1020-oracle-64kUpgrade linux-image-6.11.0-1009-azureUpgrade linux-image-realtime-hwe-24.04Upgrade linux-image-gcp-64k-lts-24.04Upgrade linux-image-6.8.0-1020-oracleUpgrade linux-image-6.11.0-1008-raspiUpgrade linux-image-oem-22.04dUpgrade linux-image-6.8.0-1023-awsUpgrade linux-image-genericUpgrade linux-image-generic-64kUpgrade linux-image-nvidia-lowlatency-64kUpgrade linux-image-aws-lts-24.04Upgrade linux-image-6.11.0-1010-lowlatencyUpgrade linux-image-azureUpgrade linux-image-oracle-64k-lts-24.04 | Feb 20, 2025 | Oct 21, 2024 |
With curated Threat Intelligence, you can see which vulnerabilities truly put you at risk, prioritize what matters most, and act before attackers do.
Explore Intelligence Hub