Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2024-42243

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-08-07
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.6.41 / 6.9.10 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
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: mm/filemap: make MAX_PAGECACHE_ORDER acceptable to xarray Patch series "mm/filemap: Limit page cache size to that supported by xarray", v2. Currently, xarray can't support arbitrary page cache size. More details can be found from the WARN_ON() statement in xas_split_alloc(). In our test whose code is attached below, we hit the WARN_ON() on ARM64 system where the base page size is 64KB and huge page size is 512MB. The issue was reported long time ago and some discussions on it can be found here [1]. [1] https://www.spinics.net/lists/linux-xfs/msg75404.html In order to fix the issue, we need to adjust MAX_PAGECACHE_ORDER to one supported by xarray and avoid PMD-sized page cache if needed. The code changes are suggested by David Hildenbrand. PATCH[1] adjusts MAX_PAGECACHE_ORDER to that supported by xarray PATCH[2-3] avoids PMD-sized page cache in the synchronous readahead path PATCH[4] avoids PMD-sized page cache for shmem files if needed Test program ============ # cat test.c #define _GNU_SOURCE #include <stdio.h> #include <stdlib.h> #include <unistd.h> #include <string.h> #include <fcntl.h> #include <errno.h> #include <sys/syscall.h> #include <sys/mman.h> #define TEST_XFS_FILENAME "/tmp/data" #define TEST_SHMEM_FILENAME "/dev/shm/data" #define TEST_MEM_SIZE 0x20000000 int main(int argc, char **argv) { const char *filename; int fd = 0; void *buf = (void *)-1, *p; int pgsize = getpagesize(); int ret; if (pgsize != 0x10000) { fprintf(stderr, "64KB base page size is required\n"); return -EPERM; } system("echo force > /sys/kernel/mm/transparent_hugepage/shmem_enabled"); system("rm -fr /tmp/data"); system("rm -fr /dev/shm/data"); system("echo 1 > /proc/sys/vm/drop_caches"); /* Open xfs or shmem file */ filename = TEST_XFS_FILENAME; if (argc > 1 && !strcmp(argv[1], "shmem")) filename = TEST_SHMEM_FILENAME; fd = open(filename, O_CREAT | O_RDWR | O_TRUNC); if (fd < 0) { fprintf(stderr, "Unable to open <%s>\n", filename); return -EIO; } /* Extend file size */ ret = ftruncate(fd, TEST_MEM_SIZE); if (ret) { fprintf(stderr, "Error %d to ftruncate()\n", ret); goto cleanup; } /* Create VMA */ buf = mmap(NULL, TEST_MEM_SIZE, PROT_READ | PROT_WRITE, MAP_SHARED, fd, 0); if (buf == (void *)-1) { fprintf(stderr, "Unable to mmap <%s>\n", filename); goto cleanup; } fprintf(stdout, "mapped buffer at 0x%p\n", buf); ret = madvise(buf, TEST_MEM_SIZE, MADV_HUGEPAGE); if (ret) { fprintf(stderr, "Unable to madvise(MADV_HUGEPAGE)\n"); goto cleanup; } /* Populate VMA */ ret = madvise(buf, TEST_MEM_SIZE, MADV_POPULATE_WRITE); if (ret) { fprintf(stderr, "Error %d to madvise(MADV_POPULATE_WRITE)\n", ret); goto cleanup; } /* Punch the file to enforce xarray split */ ret = fallocate(fd, FALLOC_FL_KEEP_SIZE | FALLOC_FL_PUNCH_HOLE, TEST_MEM_SIZE - pgsize, pgsize); if (ret) fprintf(stderr, "Error %d to fallocate()\n", ret); cleanup: if (buf != (void *)-1) munmap(buf, TEST_MEM_SIZE); if (fd > 0) close(fd); return 0; } # gcc test.c -o test # cat /proc/1/smaps | grep KernelPageSize | head -n 1 KernelPageSize: 64 kB # ./test shmem : ------------[ cut here ]------------ WARNING: CPU: 17 PID: 5253 at lib/xarray.c:1025 xas_split_alloc+0xf8/0x128 Modules linked in: nft_fib_inet nft_fib_ipv4 nft_fib_ipv6 nft_fib \ nft_reject_inet nf_reject_ipv4 nf_reject_ipv6 nft_reject nft_ct \ nft_chain_nat nf_nat nf_conntrack nf_defrag_ipv6 nf_defrag_ipv4 \ ip_set nf_tables rfkill nfnetlink vfat fat virtio_balloon \ drm fuse xfs libcrc32c crct10dif_ce ghash_ce sha2_ce sha256_arm64 \ virtio_net sha1_ce net_failover failover virtio_console virtio_blk \ dimlib virtio_mmio CPU: 17 PID: 5253 Comm: test Kdump: loaded Tainted: G W 6.10.0-rc5-gavin+ #12 Hardware name: QEMU KVM Virtual Machine, BIOS edk2-20240524-1.el9 05/24/2024 pstate: 83400005 (Nzcv daif +PAN -UAO +TC ---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

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

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:>= 5.18, < 6.6.41>= 6.7, < 6.9.10

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
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 6.6.41 / 6.9.10 or later
Fixed in 6.6.416.9.10
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux kernel 6.6.41+ or 6.9.10+ (choose the stable series appropriate for your distribution)

  1. Check current kernel version using 'uname -r'
  2. Upgrade Linux kernel to version 6.6.41 or later in the 6.6.x stable series
  3. Alternatively, upgrade to version 6.9.10 or later in the 6.9.x stable series
  4. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require matching kernel modules and could have compatibility impacts with custom drivers or older user-space tools; test in staging 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 $1,600. Get the upgrade done

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
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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

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-42243 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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