riscv: Fix vector state restore in rt_sigreturn()
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: riscv: Fix vector state restore in rt_sigreturn() The RISC-V Vector specification states in "Appendix D: Calling Convention for Vector State" [1] that "Executing a system call causes all caller-saved vector registers (v0-v31, vl, vtype) and vstart to become unspecified.". In the RISC-V kernel this is called "discarding the vstate". Returning from a signal handler via the rt_sigreturn() syscall, vector discard is also performed. However, this is not an issue since the vector state should be restored from the sigcontext, and therefore not care about the vector discard. The "live state" is the actual vector register in the running context, and the "vstate" is the vector state of the task. A dirty live state, means that the vstate and live state are not in synch. When vectorized user_from_copy() was introduced, an bug sneaked in at the restoration code, related to the discard of the live state. An example when this go wrong: 1. A userland application is executing vector code 2. The application receives a signal, and the signal handler is entered. 3. The application returns from the signal handler, using the rt_sigreturn() syscall. 4. The live vector state is discarded upon entering the rt_sigreturn(), and the live state is marked as "dirty", indicating that the live state need to be synchronized with the current vstate. 5. rt_sigreturn() restores the vstate, except the Vector registers, from the sigcontext 6. rt_sigreturn() restores the Vector registers, from the sigcontext, and now the vectorized user_from_copy() is used. The dirty live state from the discard is saved to the vstate, making the vstate corrupt. 7. rt_sigreturn() returns to the application, which crashes due to corrupted vstate. Note that the vectorized user_from_copy() is invoked depending on the value of CONFIG_RISCV_ISA_V_UCOPY_THRESHOLD. Default is 768, which means that vlen has to be larger than 128b for this bug to trigger. The fix is simply to mark the live state as non-dirty/clean prior performing the vstate restore.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.8 and later | 6.8.5, 6.9 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.8 and later Fixed in 6.8.5, 6.9 Patch available CNA
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.8.5, 6.9
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
Not affected: 4 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2024-35873
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-x6qv-96vx-xf3h
References
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- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2024-35873 · CVE Program
- CVE-2024-35873 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-x6qv-96vx-xf3h · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2024-35873 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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