Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
mm/slub: actually fix freelist pointer vs redzoning
It turns out that SLUB redzoning ("slub_debug=Z") checks from
s->object_size rather than from s->inuse (which is normally bumped to
make room for the freelist pointer), so a cache created with an object
size less than 24 would have the freelist pointer written beyond
s->object_size, causing the redzone to be corrupted by the freelist
pointer. This was very visible with "slub_debug=ZF":
BUG test (Tainted: G B ): Right Redzone overwritten
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
INFO: 0xffff957ead1c05de-0xffff957ead1c05df @offset=1502. First byte 0x1a instead of 0xbb
INFO: Slab 0xffffef3950b47000 objects=170 used=170 fp=0x0000000000000000 flags=0x8000000000000200
INFO: Object 0xffff957ead1c05d8 @offset=1496 fp=0xffff957ead1c0620
Redzone (____ptrval____): bb bb bb bb bb bb bb bb ........
Object (____ptrval____): 00 00 00 00 00 f6 f4 a5 ........
Redzone (____ptrval____): 40 1d e8 1a aa @....
Padding (____ptrval____): 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........
Adjust the offset to stay within s->object_size.
(Note that no caches of in this size range are known to exist in the
kernel currently.)
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 5.7 | 5.10.46 |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | linux | 5.10.46-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | linux | 5.10.46-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | linux | 5.10.46-1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-raspi-realtime | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-riscv +22 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-gke +27 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-gcp +14 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | linux-hwe-edge | No fix yet | — |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 8 | perf +26 | 4.18.0-477.10.1.el8_8 | RHSA-2023:2951 |
Advisories 1
- RHSA-2023:2951 Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Oct 17, 2026