firmware_loader: Fix recursive lock in device_cache_fw_images()
Key facts
- Attack vector
- —
- Privileges required
- —
- User interaction
- —
- Attack complexity
- —
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- —
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 3 without a fix
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: firmware_loader: Fix recursive lock in device_cache_fw_images() A recursive locking deadlock can occur in the firmware loader's power management notification handler. During system suspend or hibernation preparation, fw_pm_notify() calls device_cache_fw_images(). This function acquires fw_lock to set the firmware cache state to FW_LOADER_START_CACHE and then iterates over all devices using dpm_for_each_dev() while still holding the lock. For each device, dev_cache_fw_image() schedules asynchronous work to cache the firmware. If memory allocation for the async work entry fails (e.g., in out-of-memory conditions), async_schedule_node_domain() falls back to executing the work function synchronously in the current thread. The synchronous execution path (__async_dev_cache_fw_image() -> cache_firmware() -> request_firmware() -> assign_fw()) attempts to acquire fw_lock again. Since the current thread already holds fw_lock, this results in a recursive locking deadlock. Fix this by releasing fw_lock immediately after updating the cache state and before calling dpm_for_each_dev(). The lock is only needed to protect the state update. Concurrent firmware requests will correctly see the FW_LOADER_START_CACHE state and use the piggyback mechanism, which is independently protected by its own fwc->name_lock.
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
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.261, 5.15.212, 6.1.178, 6.6.145, 6.12.97, 6.18.40, 7.1.5, 7.2
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-74331
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-2whr-3329-9322
- 2026-11-06 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Other 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/806cb8fabfde7f830da5ae87777d52fdf50c4774
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7865a1bfd20d10c03b083a5fc392d907ca5099b3
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/490b0385e4cfac691f7b18dde821c13e77b4770b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/38149b57427c736c08d9aa4c7b87deacd53e9e63
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a5b2a68a391b05d54552f13548a72a46c65006f7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f25d6e4ec4c257030592bd671f113cf9584c52f0
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c0f2dedd41fe14dbe076c1672214802fb42cd8c8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d3ec78f8f8d48a04a9fac38d47275c34645e5103
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Sources
- CVE-2026-74331 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-74331 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-2whr-3329-9322 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-74331 · 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