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In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been...

Moderate severity Unreviewed Published Dec 27, 2024 to the GitHub Advisory Database • Updated Jan 16, 2025

Package

No package listedSuggest a package

Affected versions

Unknown

Patched versions

Unknown

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

cacheinfo: Allocate memory during CPU hotplug if not done from the primary CPU

Commit

5944ce092b97 ("arch_topology: Build cacheinfo from primary CPU")

adds functionality that architectures can use to optionally allocate and
build cacheinfo early during boot. Commit

6539cffa9495 ("cacheinfo: Add arch specific early level initializer")

lets secondary CPUs correct (and reallocate memory) cacheinfo data if
needed.

If the early build functionality is not used and cacheinfo does not need
correction, memory for cacheinfo is never allocated. x86 does not use
the early build functionality. Consequently, during the cacheinfo CPU
hotplug callback, last_level_cache_is_valid() attempts to dereference
a NULL pointer:

BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000100
#PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode
#PF: error_code(0x0000) - not present page
PGD 0 P4D 0
Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEPMT SMP NOPTI
CPU: 0 PID 19 Comm: cpuhp/0 Not tainted 6.4.0-rc2 #1
RIP: 0010: last_level_cache_is_valid+0x95/0xe0a

Allocate memory for cacheinfo during the cacheinfo CPU hotplug callback
if not done earlier.

Moreover, before determining the validity of the last-level cache info,
ensure that it has been allocated. Simply checking for non-zero
cache_leaves() is not sufficient, as some architectures (e.g., Intel
processors) have non-zero cache_leaves() before allocation.

Dereferencing NULL cacheinfo can occur in update_per_cpu_data_slice_size().
This function iterates over all online CPUs. However, a CPU may have come
online recently, but its cacheinfo may not have been allocated yet.

While here, remove an unnecessary indentation in allocate_cache_info().

[ bp: Massage. ]

References

Published by the National Vulnerability Database Dec 27, 2024
Published to the GitHub Advisory Database Dec 27, 2024
Last updated Jan 16, 2025

Severity

Moderate

CVSS overall score

This score calculates overall vulnerability severity from 0 to 10 and is based on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).
/ 10

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector: More severe the more the remote (logically and physically) an attacker can be in order to exploit the vulnerability.
Attack complexity: More severe for the least complex attacks.
Privileges required: More severe if no privileges are required.
User interaction: More severe when no user interaction is required.
Scope: More severe when a scope change occurs, e.g. one vulnerable component impacts resources in components beyond its security scope.
Confidentiality: More severe when loss of data confidentiality is highest, measuring the level of data access available to an unauthorized user.
Integrity: More severe when loss of data integrity is the highest, measuring the consequence of data modification possible by an unauthorized user.
Availability: More severe when the loss of impacted component availability is highest.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS score

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)

This score estimates the probability of this vulnerability being exploited within the next 30 days. Data provided by FIRST.
(5th percentile)

Weaknesses

CVE ID

CVE-2024-56617

GHSA ID

GHSA-pq66-h8qj-7xg9

Source code

No known source code

Dependabot alerts are not supported on this advisory because it does not have a package from a supported ecosystem with an affected and fixed version.

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