workqueue: Fix selection of wake_cpu in kick_pool()
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CISA ADP. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-476.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: workqueue: Fix selection of wake_cpu in kick_pool() With cpu_possible_mask=0-63 and cpu_online_mask=0-7 the following kernel oops was observed: smp: Bringing up secondary CPUs ... smp: Brought up 1 node, 8 CPUs Unable to handle kernel pointer dereference in virtual kernel address space Failing address: 0000000000000000 TEID: 0000000000000803 [..] Call Trace: arch_vcpu_is_preempted+0x12/0x80 select_idle_sibling+0x42/0x560 select_task_rq_fair+0x29a/0x3b0 try_to_wake_up+0x38e/0x6e0 kick_pool+0xa4/0x198 __queue_work.part.0+0x2bc/0x3a8 call_timer_fn+0x36/0x160 __run_timers+0x1e2/0x328 __run_timer_base+0x5a/0x88 run_timer_softirq+0x40/0x78 __do_softirq+0x118/0x388 irq_exit_rcu+0xc0/0xd8 do_ext_irq+0xae/0x168 ext_int_handler+0xbe/0xf0 psw_idle_exit+0x0/0xc default_idle_call+0x3c/0x110 do_idle+0xd4/0x158 cpu_startup_entry+0x40/0x48 rest_init+0xc6/0xc8 start_kernel+0x3c4/0x5e0 startup_continue+0x3c/0x50 The crash is caused by calling arch_vcpu_is_preempted() for an offline CPU. To avoid this, select the cpu with cpumask_any_and_distribute() to mask __pod_cpumask with cpu_online_mask. In case no cpu is left in the pool, skip the assignment. tj: This doesn't fully fix the bug as CPUs can still go down between picking the target CPU and the wake call. Fixing that likely requires adding cpu_online() test to either the sched or s390 arch code. However, regardless of how that is fixed, workqueue shouldn't be picking a CPU which isn't online as that would result in unpredictable and worse behavior.
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 | 6.6 and later | 6.6.31, 6.8.10, 6.9 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.6 and later Fixed in 6.6.31, 6.8.10, 6.9 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 7
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.6 to before 6.6.31; 6.7 to before 6.8.10 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.9:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.9 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.9:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.9 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.9:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.9 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.9:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.9 rc4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.9:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.9 rc5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.9:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.9 rc6 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.6 to before 6.6.31; 6.7 to before 6.8.10 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.9:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.9 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.9:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.9 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.9:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.9 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.9:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.9 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.9:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.9 rc5 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.9:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.9 rc6 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.6.31, 6.8.10, 6.9
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2024-36888
References
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Sources
- CVE-2024-36888 · CVE Program
- CVE-2024-36888 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- CVE-2024-36888 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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