Skip to content

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been...

High severity Unreviewed Published May 1, 2024 to the GitHub Advisory Database • Updated Jul 3, 2024

Package

No package listedSuggest a package

Affected versions

Unknown

Patched versions

Unknown

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

KVM: Always flush async #PF workqueue when vCPU is being destroyed

Always flush the per-vCPU async #PF workqueue when a vCPU is clearing its
completion queue, e.g. when a VM and all its vCPUs is being destroyed.
KVM must ensure that none of its workqueue callbacks is running when the
last reference to the KVM module is put. Gifting a reference to the
associated VM prevents the workqueue callback from dereferencing freed
vCPU/VM memory, but does not prevent the KVM module from being unloaded
before the callback completes.

Drop the misguided VM refcount gifting, as calling kvm_put_kvm() from
async_pf_execute() if kvm_put_kvm() flushes the async #PF workqueue will
result in deadlock. async_pf_execute() can't return until kvm_put_kvm()
finishes, and kvm_put_kvm() can't return until async_pf_execute() finishes:

WARNING: CPU: 8 PID: 251 at virt/kvm/kvm_main.c:1435 kvm_put_kvm+0x2d/0x320 [kvm]
Modules linked in: vhost_net vhost vhost_iotlb tap kvm_intel kvm irqbypass
CPU: 8 PID: 251 Comm: kworker/8:1 Tainted: G W 6.6.0-rc1-e7af8d17224a-x86/gmem-vm #119
Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 0.0.0 02/06/2015
Workqueue: events async_pf_execute [kvm]
RIP: 0010:kvm_put_kvm+0x2d/0x320 [kvm]
Call Trace:

async_pf_execute+0x198/0x260 [kvm]
process_one_work+0x145/0x2d0
worker_thread+0x27e/0x3a0
kthread+0xba/0xe0
ret_from_fork+0x2d/0x50
ret_from_fork_asm+0x11/0x20

---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]---
INFO: task kworker/8:1:251 blocked for more than 120 seconds.
Tainted: G W 6.6.0-rc1-e7af8d17224a-x86/gmem-vm #119
"echo 0 > /proc/sys/kernel/hung_task_timeout_secs" disables this message.
task:kworker/8:1 state:D stack:0 pid:251 ppid:2 flags:0x00004000
Workqueue: events async_pf_execute [kvm]
Call Trace:

__schedule+0x33f/0xa40
schedule+0x53/0xc0
schedule_timeout+0x12a/0x140
__wait_for_common+0x8d/0x1d0
__flush_work.isra.0+0x19f/0x2c0
kvm_clear_async_pf_completion_queue+0x129/0x190 [kvm]
kvm_arch_destroy_vm+0x78/0x1b0 [kvm]
kvm_put_kvm+0x1c1/0x320 [kvm]
async_pf_execute+0x198/0x260 [kvm]
process_one_work+0x145/0x2d0
worker_thread+0x27e/0x3a0
kthread+0xba/0xe0
ret_from_fork+0x2d/0x50
ret_from_fork_asm+0x11/0x20

If kvm_clear_async_pf_completion_queue() actually flushes the workqueue,
then there's no need to gift async_pf_execute() a reference because all
invocations of async_pf_execute() will be forced to complete before the
vCPU and its VM are destroyed/freed. And that in turn fixes the module
unloading bug as __fput() won't do module_put() on the last vCPU reference
until the vCPU has been freed, e.g. if closing the vCPU file also puts the
last reference to the KVM module.

Note that kvm_check_async_pf_completion() may also take the work item off
the completion queue and so also needs to flush the work queue, as the
work will not be seen by kvm_clear_async_pf_completion_queue(). Waiting
on the workqueue could theoretically delay a vCPU due to waiting for the
work to complete, but that's a very, very small chance, and likely a very
small delay. kvm_arch_async_page_present_queued() unconditionally makes a
new request, i.e. will effectively delay entering the guest, so the
remaining work is really just:

    trace_kvm_async_pf_completed(addr, cr2_or_gpa);

    __kvm_vcpu_wake_up(vcpu);

    mmput(mm);

and mmput() can't drop the last reference to the page tables if the vCPU is
still alive, i.e. the vCPU won't get stuck tearing down page tables.

Add a helper to do the flushing, specifically to deal with "wakeup all"
work items, as they aren't actually work items, i.e. are never placed in a
workqueue. Trying to flush a bogus workqueue entry rightly makes
__flush_work() complain (kudos to whoever added that sanity check).

Note, commit 5f6de5cbebee ("KVM: Prevent module exit until al
---truncated---

References

Published by the National Vulnerability Database May 1, 2024
Published to the GitHub Advisory Database May 1, 2024
Last updated Jul 3, 2024

Severity

High

CVSS overall score

This score calculates overall vulnerability severity from 0 to 10 and is based on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).
/ 10

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
High
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector: More severe the more the remote (logically and physically) an attacker can be in order to exploit the vulnerability.
Attack complexity: More severe for the least complex attacks.
Privileges required: More severe if no privileges are required.
User interaction: More severe when no user interaction is required.
Scope: More severe when a scope change occurs, e.g. one vulnerable component impacts resources in components beyond its security scope.
Confidentiality: More severe when loss of data confidentiality is highest, measuring the level of data access available to an unauthorized user.
Integrity: More severe when loss of data integrity is the highest, measuring the consequence of data modification possible by an unauthorized user.
Availability: More severe when the loss of impacted component availability is highest.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS score

0.044%
(14th percentile)

Weaknesses

CVE ID

CVE-2024-26976

GHSA ID

GHSA-qc4m-rx2p-hrfv

Source code

No known source code

Dependabot alerts are not supported on this advisory because it does not have a package from a supported ecosystem with an affected and fixed version.

Learn more about GitHub language support

Loading Checking history
See something to contribute? Suggest improvements for this vulnerability.