Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
sched/scs: Reset task stack state in bringup_cpu()
To hot unplug a CPU, the idle task on that CPU calls a few layers of C
code before finally leaving the kernel. When KASAN is in use, poisoned
shadow is left around for each of the active stack frames, and when
shadow call stacks are in use. When shadow call stacks (SCS) are in use
the task's saved SCS SP is left pointing at an arbitrary point within
the task's shadow call stack.
When a CPU is offlined than onlined back into the kernel, this stale
state can adversely affect execution. Stale KASAN shadow can alias new
stackframes and result in bogus KASAN warnings. A stale SCS SP is
effectively a memory leak, and prevents a portion of the shadow call
stack being used. Across a number of hotplug cycles the idle task's
entire shadow call stack can become unusable.
We previously fixed the KASAN issue in commit:
e1b77c92981a5222 ("sched/kasan: remove stale KASAN poison after hotplug")
... by removing any stale KASAN stack poison immediately prior to
onlining a CPU.
Subsequently in commit:
f1a0a376ca0c4ef1 ("sched/core: Initialize the idle task with preemption disabled")
... the refactoring left the KASAN and SCS cleanup in one-time idle
thread initialization code rather than something invoked prior to each
CPU being onlined, breaking both as above.
We fixed SCS (but not KASAN) in commit:
63acd42c0d4942f7 ("sched/scs: Reset the shadow stack when idle_task_exit")
... but as this runs in the context of the idle task being offlined it's
potentially fragile.
To fix these consistently and more robustly, reset the SCS SP and KASAN
shadow of a CPU's idle task immediately before we online that CPU in
bringup_cpu(). This ensures the idle task always has a consistent state
when it is running, and removes the need to so so when exiting an idle
task.
Whenever any thread is created, dup_task_struct() will give the task a
stack which is free of KASAN shadow, and initialize the task's SCS SP,
so there's no need to specially initialize either for idle thread within
init_idle(), as this was only necessary to handle hotplug cycles.
I've tested this on arm64 with:
* gcc 11.1.0, defconfig +KASAN_INLINE, KASAN_STACK
* clang 12.0.0, defconfig +KASAN_INLINE, KASAN_STACK, SHADOW_CALL_STACK
... offlining and onlining CPUS with:
| while true; do
| for C in /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu*/online; do
| echo 0 > $C;
| echo 1 > $C;
| done
| done
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 5.10.50 – < 5.10.83, 5.12.17 – < 5.13, 5.13.2 – < 5.14, 5.14 | 5.10.83 |
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 | 5.15.15-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | linux | 5.15.15-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | linux | 5.15.15-1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-riscv +20 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-gke +26 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-gcp +14 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | linux-hwe-edge | No fix yet | — |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 SP5 | kernel-64kb +6 | 5.14.21-150500.55.68.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2190-1 |
| SLES 15 SP5 | kernel-azure +2 | 5.14.21-150500.33.57.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2019-1 |
| SLES 15 SP5 | kernel-default-base | 5.14.21-150500.55.68.1.150500.6.31.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2190-1 |
| SLES 15 SP4 | kernel-64kb +4 | 5.14.21-150400.24.122.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2189-1 |
| SLES 15 SP4 | kernel-default-base | 5.14.21-150400.24.122.2.150400.24.58.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2189-1 |
| SLES 15 SP4 | kernel-syms +1 | 5.14.21-150400.24.122.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2189-1 |
Show 10 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES for SAP 15 SP4 | kernel-default-base | 5.14.21-150400.24.122.2.150400.24.58.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2189-1 |
| SLES for SAP 15 SP4 | kernel-docs +2 | 5.14.21-150400.24.122.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2189-1 |
| SLES for SAP 15 SP4 | kernel-syms +1 | 5.14.21-150400.24.122.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2189-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.5 | kernel-default | 5.14.21-150500.55.68.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2190-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.5 | kernel-default-base | 5.14.21-150500.55.68.1.150500.6.31.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2190-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.5 | kernel-rt +1 | 5.14.21-150500.13.58.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2008-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.4 | kernel-default | 5.14.21-150400.24.122.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2189-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.4 | kernel-default-base | 5.14.21-150400.24.122.2.150400.24.58.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2189-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.4 | kernel-rt +1 | 5.14.21-150400.15.82.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2011-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.3 | kernel-default | 5.14.21-150400.24.122.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2189-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.3 | kernel-default-base | 5.14.21-150400.24.122.2.150400.24.58.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2189-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.3 | kernel-rt +1 | 5.14.21-150400.15.82.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2011-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP5 | kernel-default | 5.14.21-150500.55.68.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2190-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP5 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP5_Update_15 +1 | 1-150500.11.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2190-1, SUSE-SU-2024:2008-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP4 | kernel-default | 5.14.21-150400.24.122.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2189-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP4 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP4_Update_27 | 1-150400.9.3.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2189-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 SP4 | kernel-64kb +3 | 5.14.21-150400.24.122.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2189-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 SP4 | kernel-default-base | 5.14.21-150400.24.122.2.150400.24.58.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2189-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 SP4 | kernel-syms +1 | 5.14.21-150400.24.122.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2189-1 |
| SUSE Real Time Module 15 SP5 | kernel-rt +3 | 5.14.21-150500.13.58.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2008-1 |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.3 | kernel-default +1 | 5.14.21-150400.24.122.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2189-1 |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.3 | kernel-default-base | 5.14.21-150400.24.122.2.150400.24.58.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2189-1 |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.3 | kernel-syms +1 | 5.14.21-150400.24.122.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2189-1 |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.3 | kernel-default | 5.14.21-150400.24.122.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2189-1 |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.3 | kernel-default-base | 5.14.21-150400.24.122.2.150400.24.58.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2189-1 |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.3 | kernel-syms +1 | 5.14.21-150400.24.122.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2189-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Leap 15.5 | dtb-aarch64 +10 | 5.14.21-150500.55.68.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2190-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.5 | kernel-azure +2 | 5.14.21-150500.33.57.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2019-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.5 | kernel-default-base | 5.14.21-150500.55.68.1.150500.6.31.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2190-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.5 | kernel-rt +3 | 5.14.21-150500.13.58.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2008-1 |
Show 2 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Leap Micro 5.4 | kernel-default | 5.14.21-150400.24.122.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2189-1 |
| openSUSE Leap Micro 5.4 | kernel-default-base | 5.14.21-150400.24.122.2.150400.24.58.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2189-1 |
| openSUSE Leap Micro 5.4 | kernel-rt | 5.14.21-150400.15.82.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2011-1 |
| openSUSE Leap Micro 5.3 | kernel-default | 5.14.21-150400.24.122.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2189-1 |
| openSUSE Leap Micro 5.3 | kernel-default-base | 5.14.21-150400.24.122.2.150400.24.58.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2189-1 |
| openSUSE Leap Micro 5.3 | kernel-rt | 5.14.21-150400.15.82.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2011-1 |
Advisories 6
- WID-SEC-2024-1235 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen ermöglichen Denial of Service und unspezifische Angriffe BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Feb 15, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2024:2019-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2024:2189-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2024:2190-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2024:2008-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2024:2011-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026