Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
powerpc/mm: Fix lockup on kernel exec fault
The powerpc kernel is not prepared to handle exec faults from kernel.
Especially, the function is_exec_fault() will return 'false' when an
exec fault is taken by kernel, because the check is based on reading
current->thread.regs->trap which contains the trap from user.
For instance, when provoking a LKDTM EXEC_USERSPACE test,
current->thread.regs->trap is set to SYSCALL trap (0xc00), and
the fault taken by the kernel is not seen as an exec fault by
set_access_flags_filter().
Commit d7df2443cd5f ("powerpc/mm: Fix spurious segfaults on radix
with autonuma") made it clear and handled it properly. But later on
commit d3ca587404b3 ("powerpc/mm: Fix reporting of kernel execute
faults") removed that handling, introducing test based on error_code.
And here is the problem, because on the 603 all upper bits of SRR1
get cleared when the TLB instruction miss handler bails out to ISI.
Until commit cbd7e6ca0210 ("powerpc/fault: Avoid heavy
search_exception_tables() verification"), an exec fault from kernel
at a userspace address was indirectly caught by the lack of entry for
that address in the exception tables. But after that commit the
kernel mainly relies on KUAP or on core mm handling to catch wrong
user accesses. Here the access is not wrong, so mm handles it.
It is a minor fault because PAGE_EXEC is not set,
set_access_flags_filter() should set PAGE_EXEC and voila.
But as is_exec_fault() returns false as explained in the beginning,
set_access_flags_filter() bails out without setting PAGE_EXEC flag,
which leads to a forever minor exec fault.
As the kernel is not prepared to handle such exec faults, the thing to
do is to fire in bad_kernel_fault() for any exec fault taken by the
kernel, as it was prior to commit d3ca587404b3.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 4.14 | 5.4.133 |
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 | 5.14.6-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | linux | 5.14.6-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | linux | 5.14.6-1 | — |
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 | 5.4.0-84.94 | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-aws | 5.4.0-1056.59 | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-azure | 5.4.0-1058.60 | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-bluefield | 5.4.0-1019.22 | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-gcp | 5.4.0-1052.56 | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-gke +26 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-gkeop | 5.4.0-1023.24 | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-kvm | 5.4.0-1046.48 | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-oracle | 5.4.0-1054.58 | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-raspi | 5.4.0-1043.47 | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-aws-5.4 | 5.4.0-1056.59~18.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-azure-5.4 | 5.4.0-1058.60~18.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-gcp +14 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-gcp-5.4 | 5.4.0-1052.56~18.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-hwe-5.4 | 5.4.0-84.94~18.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-oracle-5.4 | 5.4.0-1054.58~18.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-raspi-5.4 | 5.4.0-1043.47~18.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | linux-hwe-edge | No fix yet | — |
Show 7 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS 20.04 LTS | linux-fips +3 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS 18.04 LTS | linux-fips +3 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 20.04 LTS | linux-aws-fips | 5.4.0-1069.73+fips2 | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 20.04 LTS | linux-azure-fips | 5.4.0-1073.76+fips1 | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 20.04 LTS | linux-fips | 5.4.0-1033.38 | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 20.04 LTS | linux-gcp-fips | 5.4.0-1067.71~20.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 18.04 LTS | linux-fips +3 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS | linux +5 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS | linux-gcp +4 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS | linux-azure | No fix yet | — |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 SP3 | kernel-64kb +7 | 5.3.18-150300.59.164.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2185-1 |
| SLES 15 SP3 | kernel-default-base | 5.3.18-150300.59.164.1.150300.18.96.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2185-1 |
| SLES 15 SP2 | kernel-default-base | 5.3.18-150200.24.194.1.150200.9.99.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2183-1 |
| SLES 15 SP2 | kernel-docs +5 | 5.3.18-150200.24.194.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2183-1 |
Show 9 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES for SAP 15 SP3 | kernel-default-base | 5.3.18-150300.59.164.1.150300.18.96.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2185-1 |
| SLES for SAP 15 SP3 | kernel-docs +5 | 5.3.18-150300.59.164.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2185-1 |
| SLES for SAP 15 SP2 | kernel-default-base | 5.3.18-150200.24.194.1.150200.9.99.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2183-1 |
| SLES for SAP 15 SP2 | kernel-docs +5 | 5.3.18-150200.24.194.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2183-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.2 | kernel-default | 5.3.18-150300.59.164.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2185-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.2 | kernel-default-base | 5.3.18-150300.59.164.1.150300.18.96.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2185-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.2 | kernel-rt +1 | 5.3.18-150300.172.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2010-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.1 | kernel-default | 5.3.18-150300.59.164.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2185-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.1 | kernel-default-base | 5.3.18-150300.59.164.1.150300.18.96.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2185-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.1 | kernel-rt +1 | 5.3.18-150300.172.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2010-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP3 | kernel-default | 5.3.18-150300.59.164.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2185-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP3 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP3_Update_45 | 1-150300.7.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2185-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP2 | kernel-default | 5.3.18-150200.24.194.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2183-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP2 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP2_Update_49 | 1-150200.5.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2183-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 SP3 | kernel-64kb +6 | 5.3.18-150300.59.164.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2185-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 SP3 | kernel-default-base | 5.3.18-150300.59.164.1.150300.18.96.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2185-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 SP2 | kernel-default-base | 5.3.18-150200.24.194.1.150200.9.99.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2183-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 SP2 | kernel-docs +5 | 5.3.18-150200.24.194.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2183-1 |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 7.1 | kernel-64kb +6 | 5.3.18-150300.59.164.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2185-1 |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 7.1 | kernel-default-base | 5.3.18-150300.59.164.1.150300.18.96.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2185-1 |
Advisories 3
- SUSE-SU-2024:2010-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2024:2183-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2024:2185-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · May 2, 2025
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a82471a14aad90f79d1608d2bcbb019f0ffb53f0
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d2e52d4664097a6c1f591d869ec594bd7a0d4925
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/500f81cec9f1bfa5210aa9dd5ba9a06e22f62a35
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8a96ec5ebf96ad8e2ba7b1b34103a0be5140fc70
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cd5d5e602f502895e47e18cd46804d6d7014e65c