CVE-2024-42126: linux kernel vulnerability

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: powerpc: Avoid nmi_enter/nmi_exit in real mode interrupt. nmi_enter()/nmi_exit() touches per cpu variables which can lead to kernel crash when invoked during real mode interrupt handling (e.g. early HMI/MCE interrupt handler) if percpu allocation comes from vmalloc area. Early HMI/MCE handlers are called through DEFINE_INTERRUPT_HANDLER_NMI() wrapper which invokes nmi_enter/nmi_exit calls. We don't see any issue when percpu allocation is from the embedded first chunk. However with CONFIG_NEED_PER_CPU_PAGE_FIRST_CHUNK enabled there are chances where percpu allocation can come from the vmalloc area. With kernel command line "percpu_alloc=page" we can force percpu allocation to come from vmalloc area and can see kernel crash in machine_check_early: [ 1.215714] NIP [c000000000e49eb4] rcu_nmi_enter+0x24/0x110 [ 1.215717] LR [c0000000000461a0] machine_check_early+0xf0/0x2c0 [ 1.215719] --- interrupt: 200 [ 1.215720] [c000000fffd73180] [0000000000000000] 0x0 (unreliable) [ 1.215722] [c000000fffd731b0] [0000000000000000] 0x0 [ 1.215724] [c000000fffd73210] [c000000000008364] machine_check_early_common+0x134/0x1f8 Fix this by avoiding use of nmi_enter()/nmi_exit() in real mode if percpu first chunk is not embedded.
CVE-2024-42126CVSS 5.5Linux

CVE-2024-42126: linux kernel vulnerability

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: powerpc: Avoid nmi_enter/nmi_exit in real mode interrupt. nmi_enter()/nmi_exit() touches per cpu variables which can lead to kernel crash when invoked during real mode interrupt handling (e.g. early HMI/MCE interrupt handler) if percpu allocation comes from vmalloc area. Early HMI/MCE handlers are called through DEFINE_INTERRUPT_HANDLER_NMI() wrapper which invokes nmi_enter/nmi_exit calls. We don't see any issue when percpu allocation is from the embedded first chunk. However with CONFIG_NEED_PER_CPU_PAGE_FIRST_CHUNK enabled there are chances where percpu allocation can come from the vmalloc area. With kernel command line "percpu_alloc=page" we can force percpu allocation to come from vmalloc area and can see kernel crash in machine_check_early: [ 1.215714] NIP [c000000000e49eb4] rcu_nmi_enter+0x24/0x110 [ 1.215717] LR [c0000000000461a0] machine_check_early+0xf0/0x2c0 [ 1.215719] --- interrupt: 200 [ 1.215720] [c000000fffd73180] [0000000000000000] 0x0 (unreliable) [ 1.215722] [c000000fffd731b0] [0000000000000000] 0x0 [ 1.215724] [c000000fffd73210] [c000000000008364] machine_check_early_common+0x134/0x1f8 Fix this by avoiding use of nmi_enter()/nmi_exit() in real mode if percpu first chunk is not embedded.

CVSS
5.5 MEDIUM
EPSS
13.59%
Known exploited
not in KEV
Product
linux kernel

What is known

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: powerpc: Avoid nmi_enter/nmi_exit in real mode interrupt. nmi_enter()/nmi_exit() touches per cpu variables which can lead to kernel crash when invoked during real mode interrupt handling (e.g. early HMI/MCE interrupt handler) if percpu allocation comes from vmalloc area. Early HMI/MCE handlers are called through DEFINE_INTERRUPT_HANDLER_NMI() wrapper which invokes nmi_enter/nmi_exit calls. We don't see any issue when percpu allocation is from the embedded first chunk. However with CONFIG_NEED_PER_CPU_PAGE_FIRST_CHUNK enabled there are chances where percpu allocation can come from the vmalloc area. With kernel command line "percpu_alloc=page" we can force percpu allocation to come from vmalloc area and can see kernel crash in machine_check_early: [ 1.215714] NIP [c000000000e49eb4] rcu_nmi_enter+0x24/0x110 [ 1.215717] LR [c0000000000461a0] machine_check_early+0xf0/0x2c0 [ 1.215719] --- interrupt: 200 [ 1.215720] [c000000fffd73180] [0000000000000000] 0x0 (unreliable) [ 1.215722] [c000000fffd731b0] [0000000000000000] 0x0 [ 1.215724] [c000000fffd73210] [c000000000008364] machine_check_early_common+0x134/0x1f8 Fix this by avoiding use of nmi_enter()/nmi_exit() in real mode if percpu first chunk is not embedded.

Sources

Security newsletter

Get new CVE alerts before they become an incident

We send selected infrastructure threats in English, with practical notes for DataHouse environments.

  • DataHouse: server administration and secure cloud
  • Hostilla.pl: hosting and mail services
  • SecDNS.pl: free DNS security layer