In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
sched_ext: Take cgroup_lock() first in scx_cgroup_lock()
scx_cgroup_lock() write-locks scx_cgroup_ops_rwsem and then takes cgroup_lock(), which can deadlock through kernfs:
scx enable/disable cgroup rmdir cpu.weight write ------------------ ------------ ---------------- cgroup_lock() percpu_down_write(rwsem) cgroup_lock() kernfs_get_active() percpu_down_read(rwsem) kernfs_drain()
The enable path waits for the rmdir to release cgroup_mutex. The rmdir, deactivating the cpu controller's files, waits in kernfs_drain() for the write's active reference. The write, in scx_group_set_weight(), waits for the rwsem behind the pending writer.
Take cgroup_lock() first. The set_* paths take no cgroup locks inside the read side, so a pending write-lock then only waits for read sections that always run to completion, and no dependency from the rwsem back to cgroup_mutex remains.
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