smp: Make CSD lock acquisition atomic for debug mode
Key facts
- Attack vector
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- Privileges required
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- User interaction
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- Attack complexity
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- Impact type
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- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
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- Fix status
- Fixed
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: smp: Make CSD lock acquisition atomic for debug mode Commit b0473dcd4b1d ("smp: Improve smp_call_function_single() CSD-lock diagnostics") changed smp_call_function_single() so that, when CSD lock debugging is enabled, async !wait calls use the destination CPU csd_data. That improves diagnostics, but it also removes the single-writer property that made the old csd_lock() safe: multiple CPUs can now prepare the same destination CPU CSD concurrently. csd_lock() currently waits for CSD_FLAG_LOCK to clear and then sets the bit with a non-atomic read-modify-write. Two senders can both see an unlocked CSD, set the bit, overwrite the callback fields, and enqueue the same llist node. Re-adding a node that is already the queue head can make node->next point to itself, leaving the target CPU stuck walking call_single_queue. Later synchronous work, such as a TLB shootdown, can then remain queued and trigger soft-lockup warnings or panics. Keep the single csd_lock() implementation, but when CSD lock debugging is enabled, acquire CSD_FLAG_LOCK with try_cmpxchg_acquire(). This makes the destination CPU CSD a real atomic lock in the only configuration where it can be shared by multiple remote senders, while preserving the existing non-debug fast path.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 7.1.6, 7.2
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
Not affected: 8 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux for NVIDIA 26
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-68438
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-26r5-rg9x-853c
- 2026-11-06 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
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Sources
- CVE-2026-68438 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-68438 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-26r5-rg9x-853c · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-68438 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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