CVE-2024-40915: linux kernel vulnerability

What is known

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: riscv: rewrite __kernel_map_pages() to fix sleeping in invalid context __kernel_map_pages() is a debug function which clears the valid bit in page table entry for deallocated pages to detect illegal memory accesses to freed pages. This function set/clear the valid bit using __set_memory(). __set_memory() acquires init_mm's semaphore, and this operation may sleep. This is problematic, because __kernel_map_pages() can be called in atomic context, and thus is illegal to sleep. An example warning that this causes: BUG: sleeping function called from invalid context at kernel/locking/rwsem.c:1578 in_atomic(): 1, irqs_disabled(): 0, non_block: 0, pid: 2, name: kthreadd preempt_count: 2, expected: 0 CPU: 0 PID: 2 Comm: kthreadd Not tainted 6.9.0-g1d4c6d784ef6 #37 Hardware name: riscv-virtio,qemu (DT) Call Trace: [<ffffffff800060dc>] dump_backtrace+0x1c/0x24 [<ffffffff8091ef6e>] show_stack+0x2c/0x38 [<ffffffff8092baf8>] dump_stack_lvl+0x5a/0x72 [<ffffffff8092bb24>] dump_stack+0x14/0x1c [<ffffffff8003b7ac>] __might_resched+0x104/0x10e [<ffffffff8003b7f4>] __might_sleep+0x3e/0x62 [<ffffffff8093276a>] down_write+0x20/0x72 [<ffffffff8000cf00>] __set_memory+0x82/0x2fa [<ffffffff8000d324>] __kernel_map_pages+0x5a/0xd4 [<ffffffff80196cca>] __alloc_pages_bulk+0x3b2/0x43a [<ffffffff8018ee82>] __vmalloc_node_range+0x196/0x6ba [<ffffffff80011904>] copy_process+0x72c/0x17ec [<ffffffff80012ab4>] kernel_clone+0x60/0x2fe [<ffffffff80012f62>] kernel_thread+0x82/0xa0 [<ffffffff8003552c>] kthreadd+0x14a/0x1be [<ffffffff809357de>] ret_from_fork+0xe/0x1c Rewrite this function with apply_to_existing_page_range(). It is fine to not have any locking, because __kernel_map_pages() works with pages being allocated/deallocated and those pages are not changed by anyone else in the meantime.

Business impact

Successful exploitation of CVE-2024-40915, a medium vulnerability (CVSS 5.5) affecting linux kernel, may affect the confidentiality, integrity or availability of the vulnerable environment. The exact impact depends on the installed version, exposed interfaces and deployment configuration.

Recommended administrator action

Confirm whether linux kernel is present and compare installed versions with the vendor advisory and NVD record. Apply the vendor patch or documented mitigation; until remediation is complete, reduce exposure of affected interfaces, review relevant logs and monitor for indicators of exploitation. DataHouse can support version verification, managed patching, network exposure reduction, log review and backup validation for dedicated, cloud and colocated environments.

Sources

• NVD
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