f2fs: multidev: fix to recognize valid zero block address
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: f2fs: multidev: fix to recognize valid zero block address As reported by Yi Zhang in mailing list [1], kernel warning was catched during zbd/010 test as below: ./check zbd/010 zbd/010 (test gap zone support with F2FS) [failed] runtime ... 3.752s something found in dmesg: [ 4378.146781] run blktests zbd/010 at 2024-02-18 11:31:13 [ 4378.192349] null_blk: module loaded [ 4378.209860] null_blk: disk nullb0 created [ 4378.413285] scsi_debug:sdebug_driver_probe: scsi_debug: trim poll_queues to 0. poll_q/nr_hw = (0/1) [ 4378.422334] scsi host15: scsi_debug: version 0191 [20210520] dev_size_mb=1024, opts=0x0, submit_queues=1, statistics=0 [ 4378.434922] scsi 15:0:0:0: Direct-Access-ZBC Linux scsi_debug 0191 PQ: 0 ANSI: 7 [ 4378.443343] scsi 15:0:0:0: Power-on or device reset occurred [ 4378.449371] sd 15:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg5 type 20 [ 4378.449418] sd 15:0:0:0: [sdf] Host-managed zoned block device ... (See '/mnt/tests/gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/19168116/repository/archive.zip/storage/blktests/blk/blktests/results/nodev/zbd/010.dmesg' WARNING: CPU: 22 PID: 44011 at fs/iomap/iter.c:51 CPU: 22 PID: 44011 Comm: fio Not tainted 6.8.0-rc3+ #1 RIP: 0010:iomap_iter+0x32b/0x350 Call Trace: <TASK> __iomap_dio_rw+0x1df/0x830 f2fs_file_read_iter+0x156/0x3d0 [f2fs] aio_read+0x138/0x210 io_submit_one+0x188/0x8c0 __x64_sys_io_submit+0x8c/0x1a0 do_syscall_64+0x86/0x170 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x6e/0x76 Shinichiro Kawasaki helps to analyse this issue and proposes a potential fixing patch in [2]. Quoted from reply of Shinichiro Kawasaki: "I confirmed that the trigger commit is dbf8e63f48af as Yi reported. I took a look in the commit, but it looks fine to me. So I thought the cause is not in the commit diff. I found the WARN is printed when the f2fs is set up with multiple devices, and read requests are mapped to the very first block of the second device in the direct read path. In this case, f2fs_map_blocks() and f2fs_map_blocks_cached() modify map->m_pblk as the physical block address from each block device. It becomes zero when it is mapped to the first block of the device. However, f2fs_iomap_begin() assumes that map->m_pblk is the physical block address of the whole f2fs, across the all block devices. It compares map->m_pblk against NULL_ADDR == 0, then go into the unexpected branch and sets the invalid iomap->length. The WARN catches the invalid iomap->length. This WARN is printed even for non-zoned block devices, by following steps. - Create two (non-zoned) null_blk devices memory backed with 128MB size each: nullb0 and nullb1. # mkfs.f2fs /dev/nullb0 -c /dev/nullb1 # mount -t f2fs /dev/nullb0 "${mount_dir}" # dd if=/dev/zero of="${mount_dir}/test.dat" bs=1M count=192 # dd if="${mount_dir}/test.dat" of=/dev/null bs=1M count=192 iflag=direct ..." So, the root cause of this issue is: when multi-devices feature is on, f2fs_map_blocks() may return zero blkaddr in non-primary device, which is a verified valid block address, however, f2fs_iomap_begin() treats it as an invalid block address, and then it triggers the warning in iomap framework code. Finally, as discussed, we decide to use a more simple and direct way that checking (map.m_flags & F2FS_MAP_MAPPED) condition instead of (map.m_pblk != NULL_ADDR) to fix this issue. Thanks a lot for the effort of Yi Zhang and Shinichiro Kawasaki on this issue. [1] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-f2fs-devel/CAHj4cs-kfojYC9i0G73PRkYzcxCTex=-vugRFeP40g_URGvnfQ@mail.gmail.com/ [2] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-f2fs-devel/gngdj77k4picagsfdtiaa7gpgnup6fsgwzsltx6milmhegmjff@iax2n4wvrqye/
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 | 5.17 and later | 6.1.93, 6.6.33, 6.9.4, 6.10 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.17 and later Fixed in 6.1.93, 6.6.33, 6.9.4, 6.10 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.17 to before 6.1.93; 6.2 to before 6.6.33; 6.7 to before 6.9.4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.17 to before 6.1.93; 6.2 to before 6.6.33; 6.7 to before 6.9.4 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.93, 6.6.33, 6.9.4, 6.10
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-2024-38636
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-pwgj-c4vj-63r9
References
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2024-38636 · CVE Program
- CVE-2024-38636 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-pwgj-c4vj-63r9 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2024-38636 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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