ipv6: Fix soft lockups in fib6_select_path under high next hop churn
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- 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: 4 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-835.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipv6: Fix soft lockups in fib6_select_path under high next hop churn Soft lockups have been observed on a cluster of Linux-based edge routers located in a highly dynamic environment. Using the `bird` service, these routers continuously update BGP-advertised routes due to frequently changing nexthop destinations, while also managing significant IPv6 traffic. The lockups occur during the traversal of the multipath circular linked-list in the `fib6_select_path` function, particularly while iterating through the siblings in the list. The issue typically arises when the nodes of the linked list are unexpectedly deleted concurrently on a different core—indicated by their 'next' and 'previous' elements pointing back to the node itself and their reference count dropping to zero. This results in an infinite loop, leading to a soft lockup that triggers a system panic via the watchdog timer. Apply RCU primitives in the problematic code sections to resolve the issue. Where necessary, update the references to fib6_siblings to annotate or use the RCU APIs. Include a test script that reproduces the issue. The script periodically updates the routing table while generating a heavy load of outgoing IPv6 traffic through multiple iperf3 clients. It consistently induces infinite soft lockups within a couple of minutes. Kernel log: 0 [ffffbd13003e8d30] machine_kexec at ffffffff8ceaf3eb 1 [ffffbd13003e8d90] __crash_kexec at ffffffff8d0120e3 2 [ffffbd13003e8e58] panic at ffffffff8cef65d4 3 [ffffbd13003e8ed8] watchdog_timer_fn at ffffffff8d05cb03 4 [ffffbd13003e8f08] __hrtimer_run_queues at ffffffff8cfec62f 5 [ffffbd13003e8f70] hrtimer_interrupt at ffffffff8cfed756 6 [ffffbd13003e8fd0] __sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt at ffffffff8cea01af 7 [ffffbd13003e8ff0] sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt at ffffffff8df1b83d -- <IRQ stack> -- 8 [ffffbd13003d3708] asm_sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt at ffffffff8e000ecb [exception RIP: fib6_select_path+299] RIP: ffffffff8ddafe7b RSP: ffffbd13003d37b8 RFLAGS: 00000287 RAX: ffff975850b43600 RBX: ffff975850b40200 RCX: 0000000000000000 RDX: 000000003fffffff RSI: 0000000051d383e4 RDI: ffff975850b43618 RBP: ffffbd13003d3800 R8: 0000000000000000 R9: ffff975850b40200 R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000000 R12: ffffbd13003d3830 R13: ffff975850b436a8 R14: ffff975850b43600 R15: 0000000000000007 ORIG_RAX: ffffffffffffffff CS: 0010 SS: 0018 9 [ffffbd13003d3808] ip6_pol_route at ffffffff8ddb030c 10 [ffffbd13003d3888] ip6_pol_route_input at ffffffff8ddb068c 11 [ffffbd13003d3898] fib6_rule_lookup at ffffffff8ddf02b5 12 [ffffbd13003d3928] ip6_route_input at ffffffff8ddb0f47 13 [ffffbd13003d3a18] ip6_rcv_finish_core.constprop.0 at ffffffff8dd950d0 14 [ffffbd13003d3a30] ip6_list_rcv_finish.constprop.0 at ffffffff8dd96274 15 [ffffbd13003d3a98] ip6_sublist_rcv at ffffffff8dd96474 16 [ffffbd13003d3af8] ipv6_list_rcv at ffffffff8dd96615 17 [ffffbd13003d3b60] __netif_receive_skb_list_core at ffffffff8dc16fec 18 [ffffbd13003d3be0] netif_receive_skb_list_internal at ffffffff8dc176b3 19 [ffffbd13003d3c50] napi_gro_receive at ffffffff8dc565b9 20 [ffffbd13003d3c80] ice_receive_skb at ffffffffc087e4f5 [ice] 21 [ffffbd13003d3c90] ice_clean_rx_irq at ffffffffc0881b80 [ice] 22 [ffffbd13003d3d20] ice_napi_poll at ffffffffc088232f [ice] 23 [ffffbd13003d3d80] __napi_poll at ffffffff8dc18000 24 [ffffbd13003d3db8] net_rx_action at ffffffff8dc18581 25 [ffffbd13003d3e40] __do_softirq at ffffffff8df352e9 26 [ffffbd13003d3eb0] run_ksoftirqd at ffffffff8ceffe47 27 [ffffbd13003d3ec0] smpboot_thread_fn at ffffffff8cf36a30 28 [ffffbd13003d3ee8] kthread at ffffffff8cf2b39f 29 [ffffbd13003d3f28] ret_from_fork at ffffffff8ce5fa64 30 [ffffbd13003d3f50] ret_from_fork_asm at ffffffff8ce03cbb
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 | 4.15 and later | 6.1.128, 6.6.75, 6.11.11, 6.12.2, 6.13 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 4.15 and later Fixed in 6.1.128, 6.6.75, 6.11.11, 6.12.2, 6.13 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 4.15 to before 6.1.128; 6.2 to before 6.6.75; 6.7 to before 6.11.11; 6.12 to before 6.12.2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 4.15 to before 6.1.128; 6.2 to before 6.6.75; 6.7 to before 6.11.11; 6.12 to before 6.12.2 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.128, 6.6.75, 6.11.11, 6.12.2, 6.13
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 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2024-56703
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-r654-x82p-f2p7
References
Patch 5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d0ec61c9f3583b76aebdbb271f5c0d3fcccd48b2
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/52da02521ede55fb86546c3fffd9377b3261b91f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/11edcd026012ac18acee0f1514db3ed1b160fc6f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/34a949e7a0869dfa31a40416d2a56973fae1807b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d9ccb18f83ea2bb654289b6ecf014fd267cc988b
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-2024-56703 · CVE Program
- CVE-2024-56703 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-r654-x82p-f2p7 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2024-56703 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences