CVE-2021-47632

Medium

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: powerpc/set_memory: Avoid spinlock recursion in change_page_attr() Commit 1f9ad21c3b38 ("powerpc/mm: Implement set_memory() routines") included a spin_lock() to change_page_attr() in order to safely perform the three step operations. But then commit 9f7853d7609d ("powerpc/mm: Fix set_memory_*() against concurrent accesses") modify it to use pte_update() and do the operation safely against concurrent access. In the meantime, Maxime reported some spinlock recursion. [ 15.351649] BUG: spinlock recursion on CPU#0, kworker/0:2/217 [ 15.357540] lock: init_mm+0x3c/0x420, .magic: dead4ead, .owner: kworker/0:2/217, .owner_cpu: 0 [ 15.366563] CPU: 0 PID: 217 Comm: kworker/0:2 Not tainted 5.15.0+ #523 [ 15.373350] Workqueue: events do_free_init [ 15.377615] Call Trace: [ 15.380232] [e4105ac0] [800946a4] do_raw_spin_lock+0xf8/0x120 (unreliable) [ 15.387340] [e4105ae0] [8001f4ec] change_page_attr+0x40/0x1d4 [ 15.393413] [e4105b10] [801424e0] __apply_to_page_range+0x164/0x310 [ 15.400009] [e4105b60] [80169620] free_pcp_prepare+0x1e4/0x4a0 [ 15.406045] [e4105ba0] [8016c5a0] free_unref_page+0x40/0x2b8 [ 15.411979] [e4105be0] [8018724c] kasan_depopulate_vmalloc_pte+0x6c/0x94 [ 15.418989] [e4105c00] [801424e0] __apply_to_page_range+0x164/0x310 [ 15.425451] [e4105c50] [80187834] kasan_release_vmalloc+0xbc/0x134 [ 15.431898] [e4105c70] [8015f7a8] __purge_vmap_area_lazy+0x4e4/0xdd8 [ 15.438560] [e4105d30] [80160d10] _vm_unmap_aliases.part.0+0x17c/0x24c [ 15.445283] [e4105d60] [801642d0] __vunmap+0x2f0/0x5c8 [ 15.450684] [e4105db0] [800e32d0] do_free_init+0x68/0x94 [ 15.456181] [e4105dd0] [8005d094] process_one_work+0x4bc/0x7b8 [ 15.462283] [e4105e90] [8005d614] worker_thread+0x284/0x6e8 [ 15.468227] [e4105f00] [8006aaec] kthread+0x1f0/0x210 [ 15.473489] [e4105f40] [80017148] ret_from_kernel_thread+0x14/0x1c Remove the read / modify / write sequence to make the operation atomic and remove the spin_lock() in change_page_attr(). To do the operation atomically, we can't use pte modification helpers anymore. Because all platforms have different combination of bits, it is not easy to use those bits directly. But all have the _PAGE_KERNEL_{RO/ROX/RW/RWX} set of flags. All we need it to compare two sets to know which bits are set or cleared. For instance, by comparing _PAGE_KERNEL_ROX and _PAGE_KERNEL_RO you know which bit gets cleared and which bit get set when changing exec permission.

SeverityMedium
CVSS5.5
Exploit probability—
ProductLinux Kernel
PublishedFeb 26, 2025
First seenFeb 26, 2025
Weakness typeCWE-667CWE-667

How to fix

Update
  • linux linux_kernel5.15.34, 5.16.20, 5.17.3 or later

Affected products

ProductAffected versionsFixed in
linux linux_kernelv < 5.15.34, 5.16 ≤ v < 5.16.20, 5.17 ≤ v < 5.17.35.15.34, 5.16.20, 5.17.3

Check your version

Choose the product and enter the version you run to see whether it falls in the affected range.

In the Intelligence 360 plan

Attack Surface Management

See the assets tied to your domains, the technologies they run and known vulnerabilities in one list.