riscv: rewrite __kernel_map_pages() to fix sleeping in invalid context
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-667 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
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.
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 | 5.7 and later | 6.1.95, 6.6.35, 6.9.6, 6.10 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.7 and later Fixed in 6.1.95, 6.6.35, 6.9.6, 6.10 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.7 to before 6.1.95; 6.2 to before 6.6.35; 6.7 to before 6.9.6 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.7 to before 6.1.95; 6.2 to before 6.6.35; 6.7 to before 6.9.6 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.95, 6.6.35, 6.9.6, 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-2024-40915
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-cxf4-996m-v4m3
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-2024-40915 · CVE Program
- CVE-2024-40915 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-cxf4-996m-v4m3 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2024-40915 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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