Vulnerabilities > CVE-2024-35968 - Improper Locking vulnerability in Linux Kernel 6.9

047910
CVSS 5.5 - MEDIUM
Attack vector
LOCAL
Attack complexity
LOW
Privileges required
LOW
Confidentiality impact
NONE
Integrity impact
NONE
Availability impact
HIGH
local
low complexity
linux
CWE-667

Summary

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: pds_core: Fix pdsc_check_pci_health function to use work thread When the driver notices fw_status == 0xff it tries to perform a PCI reset on itself via pci_reset_function() in the context of the driver's health thread. However, pdsc_reset_prepare calls pdsc_stop_health_thread(), which attempts to stop/flush the health thread. This results in a deadlock because the stop/flush will never complete since the driver called pci_reset_function() from the health thread context. Fix by changing the pdsc_check_pci_health_function() to queue a newly introduced pdsc_pci_reset_thread() on the pdsc's work queue. Unloading the driver in the fw_down/dead state uncovered another issue, which can be seen in the following trace: WARNING: CPU: 51 PID: 6914 at kernel/workqueue.c:1450 __queue_work+0x358/0x440 [...] RIP: 0010:__queue_work+0x358/0x440 [...] Call Trace: <TASK> ? __warn+0x85/0x140 ? __queue_work+0x358/0x440 ? report_bug+0xfc/0x1e0 ? handle_bug+0x3f/0x70 ? exc_invalid_op+0x17/0x70 ? asm_exc_invalid_op+0x1a/0x20 ? __queue_work+0x358/0x440 queue_work_on+0x28/0x30 pdsc_devcmd_locked+0x96/0xe0 [pds_core] pdsc_devcmd_reset+0x71/0xb0 [pds_core] pdsc_teardown+0x51/0xe0 [pds_core] pdsc_remove+0x106/0x200 [pds_core] pci_device_remove+0x37/0xc0 device_release_driver_internal+0xae/0x140 driver_detach+0x48/0x90 bus_remove_driver+0x6d/0xf0 pci_unregister_driver+0x2e/0xa0 pdsc_cleanup_module+0x10/0x780 [pds_core] __x64_sys_delete_module+0x142/0x2b0 ? syscall_trace_enter.isra.18+0x126/0x1a0 do_syscall_64+0x3b/0x90 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x72/0xdc RIP: 0033:0x7fbd9d03a14b [...] Fix this by preventing the devcmd reset if the FW is not running.

Vulnerable Configurations

Part Description Count
OS
Linux
3

Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

  • Leveraging Race Conditions
    This attack targets a race condition occurring when multiple processes access and manipulate the same resource concurrently and the outcome of the execution depends on the particular order in which the access takes place. The attacker can leverage a race condition by "running the race", modifying the resource and modifying the normal execution flow. For instance a race condition can occur while accessing a file, the attacker can trick the system by replacing the original file with his version and cause the system to read the malicious file.
  • Leveraging Race Conditions via Symbolic Links
    This attack leverages the use of symbolic links (Symlinks) in order to write to sensitive files. An attacker can create a Symlink link to a target file not otherwise accessible to her. When the privileged program tries to create a temporary file with the same name as the Symlink link, it will actually write to the target file pointed to by the attackers' Symlink link. If the attacker can insert malicious content in the temporary file she will be writing to the sensitive file by using the Symlink. The race occurs because the system checks if the temporary file exists, then creates the file. The attacker would typically create the Symlink during the interval between the check and the creation of the temporary file.