Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2024-26939

HIGH · 7.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.1.88 / 6.6.29 or later.
See remediation →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/i915/vma: Fix UAF on destroy against retire race Object debugging tools were sporadically reporting illegal attempts to free a still active i915 VMA object when parking a GT believed to be idle. [161.359441] ODEBUG: free active (active state 0) object: ffff88811643b958 object type: i915_active hint: __i915_vma_active+0x0/0x50 [i915] [161.360082] WARNING: CPU: 5 PID: 276 at lib/debugobjects.c:514 debug_print_object+0x80/0xb0 ... [161.360304] CPU: 5 PID: 276 Comm: kworker/5:2 Not tainted 6.5.0-rc1-CI_DRM_13375-g003f860e5577+ #1 [161.360314] Hardware name: Intel Corporation Rocket Lake Client Platform/RocketLake S UDIMM 6L RVP, BIOS RKLSFWI1.R00.3173.A03.2204210138 04/21/2022 [161.360322] Workqueue: i915-unordered __intel_wakeref_put_work [i915] [161.360592] RIP: 0010:debug_print_object+0x80/0xb0 ... [161.361347] debug_object_free+0xeb/0x110 [161.361362] i915_active_fini+0x14/0x130 [i915] [161.361866] release_references+0xfe/0x1f0 [i915] [161.362543] i915_vma_parked+0x1db/0x380 [i915] [161.363129] __gt_park+0x121/0x230 [i915] [161.363515] ____intel_wakeref_put_last+0x1f/0x70 [i915] That has been tracked down to be happening when another thread is deactivating the VMA inside __active_retire() helper, after the VMA's active counter has been already decremented to 0, but before deactivation of the VMA's object is reported to the object debugging tool. We could prevent from that race by serializing i915_active_fini() with __active_retire() via ref->tree_lock, but that wouldn't stop the VMA from being used, e.g. from __i915_vma_retire() called at the end of __active_retire(), after that VMA has been already freed by a concurrent i915_vma_destroy() on return from the i915_active_fini(). Then, we should rather fix the issue at the VMA level, not in i915_active. Since __i915_vma_parked() is called from __gt_park() on last put of the GT's wakeref, the issue could be addressed by holding the GT wakeref long enough for __active_retire() to complete before that wakeref is released and the GT parked. I believe the issue was introduced by commit d93939730347 ("drm/i915: Remove the vma refcount") which moved a call to i915_active_fini() from a dropped i915_vma_release(), called on last put of the removed VMA kref, to i915_vma_parked() processing path called on last put of a GT wakeref. However, its visibility to the object debugging tool was suppressed by a bug in i915_active that was fixed two weeks later with commit e92eb246feb9 ("drm/i915/active: Fix missing debug object activation"). A VMA associated with a request doesn't acquire a GT wakeref by itself. Instead, it depends on a wakeref held directly by the request's active intel_context for a GT associated with its VM, and indirectly on that intel_context's engine wakeref if the engine belongs to the same GT as the VMA's VM. Those wakerefs are released asynchronously to VMA deactivation. Fix the issue by getting a wakeref for the VMA's GT when activating it, and putting that wakeref only after the VMA is deactivated. However, exclude global GTT from that processing path, otherwise the GPU never goes idle. Since __i915_vma_retire() may be called from atomic contexts, use async variant of wakeref put. Also, to avoid circular locking dependency, take care of acquiring the wakeref before VM mutex when both are needed. v7: Add inline comments with justifications for: - using untracked variants of intel_gt_pm_get/put() (Nirmoy), - using async variant of _put(), - not getting the wakeref in case of a global GTT, - always getting the first wakeref outside vm->mutex. v6: Since __i915_vma_active/retire() callbacks are not serialized, storing a wakeref tracking handle inside struct i915_vma is not safe, and there is no other good place for that. Use untracked variants of intel_gt_pm_get/put_async(). v5: Replace "tile" with "GT" across commit description (Rodrigo), - ---truncated---

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis
How this class of weakness works · CWE-416

Memory is used after it has been freed, so its contents — now potentially attacker-controlled — drive the program's behaviour. With careful heap grooming this becomes code execution. The fix requires disciplined ownership of memory and often a targeted rework of the object lifecycle.

General guidance for the use after free class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 5.19, < 6.1.88>= 6.2, < 6.6.29>= 6.7, < 6.8.3= 6.9

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
High
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.1.88 / 6.6.29 / 6.8.3 or later
Fixed in 6.1.886.6.296.8.3
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Linux kernel 6.1.88+, 6.6.29+, 6.8.3+, or 6.10+ (any version after the respective branch's fix)

  1. Identify the current kernel version using `uname -r` or `cat /proc/version`
  2. Check if the system uses a distribution-provided kernel (Ubuntu, Debian, RHEL, etc.) and update using the distribution's package manager (e.g., `apt update && apt upgrade` for Debian-based, `dnf update` for RHEL-based)
  3. For custom or mainline kernels, obtain a fixed kernel version: 6.1.88 or later for the 6.1.x branch, 6.6.29 or later for the 6.6.x branch, 6.8.3 or later for the 6.8.x branch, or 6.10 or later for the latest stable branch
  4. Reboot the system into the updated kernel to apply the fix
  5. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version and confirming the vulnerability is resolved
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could have compatibility implications with custom drivers or modules; ensure backups and test in non-production environment first

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $3,200. Get the upgrade done

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

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