In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
iavf: get rid of the crit lock
Get rid of the crit lock. That frees us from the error prone logic of try_locks.
Thanks to netdev_lock() by Jakub it is now easy, and in most cases we were protected by it already - replace crit lock by netdev lock when it was not the case.
Lockdep reports that we should cancel the work under crit_lock [splat1], and that was the scheme we have mostly followed since [1] by Slawomir. But when that is done we still got into deadlocks [splat2]. So instead we should look at the bigger problem, namely "weird locking/scheduling" of the iavf. The first step to fix that is to remove the crit lock. I will followup with a -next series that simplifies scheduling/tasks.
Cancel the work without netdev lock (weird unlock+lock scheme), to fix the [splat2] (which would be totally ugly if we would kept the crit lock).
Extend protected part of iavf_watchdog_task() to include scheduling more work.
Note that the removed comment in iavf_reset_task() was misplaced, it belonged to inside of the removed if condition, so it's gone now.
[splat1] - w/o this patch - The deadlock during VF removal: WARNING: possible circular locking dependency detected sh/3825 is trying to acquire lock: ((work_completion)(&(&adapter->watchdog_task)->work)){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: start_flush_work+0x1a1/0x470 but task is already holding lock: (&adapter->crit_lock){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: iavf_remove+0xd1/0x690 [iavf] which lock already depends on the new lock.
[splat2] - when cancelling work under crit lock, w/o this series, see [2] for the band aid attempt WARNING: possible circular locking dependency detected sh/3550 is trying to acquire lock: ((wq_completion)iavf){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: touch_wq_lockdep_map+0x26/0x90 but task is already holding lock: (&dev->lock){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: iavf_remove+0xa6/0x6e0 [iavf] which lock already depends on the new lock.
[1] fc2e6b3b132a ("iavf: Rework mutexes for better synchronisation") [2] https://github.com/pkitszel/linux/commit/52dddbfc2bb60294083f5711a158a
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 | — | No solution exists | Jul 11, 2025 | Jul 11, 2025 |
| Redhat_linux | — | No solution exists | Jul 14, 2025 | Jul 10, 2025 |
| Suse | — | Upgrade kernel-kvmsmall-develUpgrade kernel-develUpgrade kernel-default-develUpgrade kernel-rt-vdsoUpgrade dtb-alteraUpgrade dtb-appleUpgrade dlm-kmp-64kbUpgrade ocfs2-kmp-64kbUpgrade kernel-64kbUpgrade gfs2-kmp-64kbUpgrade kernel-64kb-optionalUpgrade kernel-default-livepatchUpgrade dtb-qcomUpgrade dtb-exynosUpgrade kernel-default-vdsoUpgrade dtb-amdUpgrade kernel-rt-optionalUpgrade cluster-md-kmp-rtUpgrade dtb-marvellUpgrade dtb-allwinnerUpgrade kernel-source-vanillaUpgrade kernel-sourceUpgrade kernel-kvmsmall-vdsoUpgrade kernel-default-optionalUpgrade dtb-amazonUpgrade dtb-lgUpgrade dtb-caviumUpgrade ocfs2-kmp-defaultUpgrade dtb-freescaleUpgrade dtb-hisiliconUpgrade dtb-broadcomUpgrade gfs2-kmp-defaultUpgrade kernel-docs-htmlUpgrade kselftests-kmp-64kbUpgrade gfs2-kmp-rtUpgrade kernel-zfcpdumpUpgrade ocfs2-kmp-rtUpgrade kernel-kvmsmallUpgrade kernel-rtUpgrade dtb-nvidiaUpgrade kernel-rt-develUpgrade dtb-sprdUpgrade kselftests-kmp-defaultUpgrade dtb-amlogicUpgrade dtb-renesasUpgrade kernel-default-livepatch-develUpgrade dtb-mediatekUpgrade dtb-apmUpgrade kernel-defaultUpgrade dtb-xilinxUpgrade kernel-obs-buildUpgrade cluster-md-kmp-defaultUpgrade dtb-armUpgrade dlm-kmp-rtUpgrade kernel-rt-livepatch-develUpgrade kernel-64kb-extraUpgrade kernel-rt-extraUpgrade kernel-rt-livepatchUpgrade kernel-default-extraUpgrade kselftests-kmp-rtUpgrade kernel-64kb-develUpgrade dlm-kmp-defaultUpgrade kernel-macrosUpgrade kernel-docsUpgrade dtb-socionextUpgrade dtb-rockchipUpgrade cluster-md-kmp-64kbUpgrade kernel-symsUpgrade kernel-obs-qa | Dec 5, 2025 | Nov 6, 2025 |
| Ubuntu | — | Upgrade linux-image-aws-6.14Upgrade linux-image-awsUpgrade linux-image-generic-64k-6.14Upgrade linux-image-virtualUpgrade linux-image-oem-24.04Upgrade linux-image-oem-24.04bUpgrade linux-image-azure-6.14Upgrade linux-image-gcpUpgrade linux-image-realtimeUpgrade linux-image-aws-64kUpgrade linux-image-6.14.0-32-genericUpgrade linux-image-realtime-6.14Upgrade linux-image-virtual-hwe-24.04Upgrade linux-image-oem-24.04aUpgrade linux-image-6.14.0-1013-oracle-64kUpgrade linux-image-generic-64k-hwe-24.04Upgrade linux-image-oem-6.14Upgrade linux-image-oracleUpgrade linux-image-virtual-6.14Upgrade linux-image-aws-64k-6.14Upgrade linux-image-6.14.0-1014-raspiUpgrade linux-image-6.14.0-1016-gcpUpgrade linux-image-oracle-64kUpgrade linux-image-gcp-64kUpgrade linux-image-6.14.0-1012-oemUpgrade linux-image-generic-6.14Upgrade linux-image-oracle-6.14Upgrade linux-image-6.14.0-32-generic-64kUpgrade linux-image-6.14.0-1012-realtimeUpgrade linux-image-6.14.0-1013-oracleUpgrade linux-image-raspiUpgrade linux-image-6.14.0-1013-awsUpgrade linux-image-gcp-6.14Upgrade linux-image-gcp-64k-6.14Upgrade linux-image-raspi-6.14Upgrade linux-image-azureUpgrade linux-image-6.14.0-1012-azureUpgrade linux-image-oem-24.04cUpgrade linux-image-6.14.0-1016-gcp-64kUpgrade linux-image-6.14.0-1013-aws-64kUpgrade linux-image-realtime-hwe-24.04Upgrade linux-image-genericUpgrade linux-image-generic-64kUpgrade linux-image-oracle-64k-6.14Upgrade linux-image-generic-hwe-24.04 | Jul 14, 2025 | Jul 10, 2025 |
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