Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
parisc: Fix random data corruption from exception handler
The current exception handler implementation, which assists when accessing
user space memory, may exhibit random data corruption if the compiler decides
to use a different register than the specified register %r29 (defined in
ASM_EXCEPTIONTABLE_REG) for the error code. If the compiler choose another
register, the fault handler will nevertheless store -EFAULT into %r29 and thus
trash whatever this register is used for.
Looking at the assembly I found that this happens sometimes in emulate_ldd().
To solve the issue, the easiest solution would be if it somehow is
possible to tell the fault handler which register is used to hold the error
code. Using %0 or %1 in the inline assembly is not posssible as it will show
up as e.g. %r29 (with the "%r" prefix), which the GNU assembler can not
convert to an integer.
This patch takes another, better and more flexible approach:
We extend the __ex_table (which is out of the execution path) by one 32-word.
In this word we tell the compiler to insert the assembler instruction
"or %r0,%r0,%reg", where %reg references the register which the compiler
choosed for the error return code.
In case of an access failure, the fault handler finds the __ex_table entry and
can examine the opcode. The used register is encoded in the lowest 5 bits, and
the fault handler can then store -EFAULT into this register.
Since we extend the __ex_table to 3 words we can't use the BUILDTIME_TABLE_SORT
config option any longer.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 4.9.21 – < 4.10, 4.10.9 – < 4.11, 4.11 | 4.10 |
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 | 6.7.7-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | linux | 6.7.7-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | linux | 6.1.82-1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-riscv +22 | 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 | — |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 2 (CBL-Mariner) | kernel | No fix yet | — |
Advisories 1
- WID-SEC-2024-0773 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Oct 25, 2026