Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
wifi: rtlwifi: Drastically reduce the attempts to read efuse in case of failures
Syzkaller reported a hung task with uevent_show() on stack trace. That
specific issue was addressed by another commit [0], but even with that
fix applied (for example, running v6.12-rc5) we face another type of hung
task that comes from the same reproducer [1]. By investigating that, we
could narrow it to the following path:
(a) Syzkaller emulates a Realtek USB WiFi adapter using raw-gadget and
dummy_hcd infrastructure.
(b) During the probe of rtl8192cu, the driver ends-up performing an efuse
read procedure (which is related to EEPROM load IIUC), and here lies the
issue: the function read_efuse() calls read_efuse_byte() many times, as
loop iterations depending on the efuse size (in our example, 512 in total).
This procedure for reading efuse bytes relies in a loop that performs an
I/O read up to *10k* times in case of failures. We measured the time of
the loop inside read_efuse_byte() alone, and in this reproducer (which
involves the dummy_hcd emulation layer), it takes 15 seconds each. As a
consequence, we have the driver stuck in its probe routine for big time,
exposing a stack trace like below if we attempt to reboot the system, for
example:
task:kworker/0:3 state:D stack:0 pid:662 tgid:662 ppid:2 flags:0x00004000
Workqueue: usb_hub_wq hub_event
Call Trace:
__schedule+0xe22/0xeb6
schedule_timeout+0xe7/0x132
__wait_for_common+0xb5/0x12e
usb_start_wait_urb+0xc5/0x1ef
? usb_alloc_urb+0x95/0xa4
usb_control_msg+0xff/0x184
_usbctrl_vendorreq_sync+0xa0/0x161
_usb_read_sync+0xb3/0xc5
read_efuse_byte+0x13c/0x146
read_efuse+0x351/0x5f0
efuse_read_all_map+0x42/0x52
rtl_efuse_shadow_map_update+0x60/0xef
rtl_get_hwinfo+0x5d/0x1c2
rtl92cu_read_eeprom_info+0x10a/0x8d5
? rtl92c_read_chip_version+0x14f/0x17e
rtl_usb_probe+0x323/0x851
usb_probe_interface+0x278/0x34b
really_probe+0x202/0x4a4
__driver_probe_device+0x166/0x1b2
driver_probe_device+0x2f/0xd8
[...]
We propose hereby to drastically reduce the attempts of doing the I/O
reads in case of failures, restricted to USB devices (given that
they're inherently slower than PCIe ones). By retrying up to 10 times
(instead of 10000), we got reponsiveness in the reproducer, while seems
reasonable to believe that there's no sane USB device implementation in
the field requiring this amount of retries at every I/O read in order
to properly work. Based on that assumption, it'd be good to have it
backported to stable but maybe not since driver implementation (the 10k
number comes from day 0), perhaps up to 6.x series makes sense.
[0] Commit 15fffc6a5624 ("driver core: Fix uevent_show() vs driver detach race")
[1] A note about that: this syzkaller report presents multiple reproducers
that differs by the type of emulated USB device. For this specific case,
check the entry from 2024/08/08 06:23 in the list of crashes; the C repro
is available at https://syzkaller.appspot.com/text?tag=ReproC&x=1521fc83980000.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 2.6.38 | 6.1.120 |
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 | 6.12.3-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | linux | 6.12.3-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | linux | 6.1.123-1 | — |
| Debian 11 | linux-6.1 | 6.1.128-1~deb11u1 | DLA-4076-1 |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Nvidia-BlueField 22.04 LTS | linux-bluefield | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux | 6.8.0-58.60 | USN-7449-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-aws | 6.8.0-1027.29 | USN-7449-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-azure | 6.8.0-1027.32 | USN-7449-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-azure-6.11 | 6.11.0-1012.12~24.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-azure-nvidia | 6.8.0-1014.15 | USN-7468-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gcp | 6.8.0-1028.30 | USN-7450-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gcp-6.11 | 6.11.0-1011.11~24.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gke | 6.8.0-1023.27 | USN-7450-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gkeop | 6.8.0-1010.12 | USN-7450-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-ibm | 6.8.0-1024.24 | USN-7449-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-nvidia | 6.8.0-1026.29 | USN-7449-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-nvidia-6.11 | 6.11.0-1007.7 | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-nvidia-lowlatency | 6.8.0-1026.29.1 | USN-7449-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-nvidia-tegra | 6.8.0-1008.8 | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-oem-6.11 | 6.11.0-1015.15 | USN-7310-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-oem-6.8 | 6.8.0-1026.26 | USN-7449-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-oracle | 6.8.0-1024.25 | USN-7449-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-raspi | 6.8.0-1028.32 | USN-7524-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-realtime +1 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-riscv +1 | 6.8.0-58.60.1 | USN-7449-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-xilinx | 6.8.0-1017.18 | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux +49 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-aws-6.8 | 6.8.0-1027.29~22.04.1 | USN-7451-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-azure-6.8 | 6.8.0-1027.32~22.04.1 | USN-7449-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-gcp-6.8 | 6.8.0-1028.30~22.04.1 | USN-7452-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-hwe-6.8 | 6.8.0-58.60~22.04.1 | USN-7449-2 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-ibm-6.8 | 6.8.0-1024.24~22.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-nvidia-6.8 | 6.8.0-1026.29~22.04.1 | USN-7449-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-oracle-6.8 | 6.8.0-1024.25~22.04.1 | USN-7449-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-riscv-6.8 +1 | 6.8.0-58.60.1~22.04.1 | USN-7449-1 |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-gke +28 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-gcp +14 | No fix yet | — |
Show 16 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | linux-hwe-edge | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-raspi-realtime | 6.8.0-2023.24 | USN-7523-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-realtime | 6.8.1-1020.21 | USN-7453-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 22.04 LTS | linux-realtime +1 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 22.04 LTS | linux-realtime-6.8 | 6.8.1-1020.21~22.04.1 | — |
| 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 16.04 LTS | linux-fips | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 24.04 LTS | linux-fips | 6.8.0-78.78+fips1 | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 22.04 LTS | linux-fips +3 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 20.04 LTS | linux-fips +3 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 18.04 LTS | linux-fips +3 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 16.04 LTS | linux-fips | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-preview 22.04 LTS | linux-fips +3 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS | linux +21 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS | linux +12 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS | linux +7 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS | linux +3 | No fix yet | — |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 9 | rv +77 | 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6 | RHSA-2025:6966 |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 SP6 | kernel-64kb +6 | 6.4.0-150600.23.33.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:0154-1 |
| SLES 15 SP6 | kernel-azure +2 | 6.4.0-150600.8.23.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:0117-1 |
| SLES 15 SP6 | kernel-coco +3 | 6.4.0-15061.12.coco15sp6.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:0289-1 |
| SLES 15 SP6 | kernel-default-base | 6.4.0-150600.23.33.1.150600.12.14.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:0154-1 |
Show 4 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLE Micro 6.1 | kernel-default-base | 6.4.0-24.1.21.4 | SUSE-SU-2025:20248-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.1 | kernel-livepatch-MICRO-6-0-RT_Update_5 | 1-1.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:20249-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.1 | kernel-livepatch-MICRO-6-0_Update_5 | 1-1.2 | SUSE-SU-2025:20248-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.1 | kernel-rt +4 | 6.4.0-25.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:20249-1, SUSE-SU-2025:20248-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.0 | kernel-default-base | 6.4.0-24.1.21.4 | SUSE-SU-2025:20165-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.0 | kernel-livepatch-MICRO-6-0-RT_Update_5 | 1-1.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:20166-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.0 | kernel-livepatch-MICRO-6-0_Update_5 | 1-1.2 | SUSE-SU-2025:20165-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.0 | kernel-rt +4 | 6.4.0-25.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:20166-1, SUSE-SU-2025:20165-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP6 | kernel-default | 6.4.0-150600.23.33.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:0154-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP6 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP6-RT_Update_7 | 1-150600.1.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:0153-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP6 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP6_Update_7 | 1-150600.13.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:0154-1 |
| SUSE Real Time Module 15 SP6 | kernel-rt +3 | 6.4.0-150600.10.23.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:0153-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | dtb-aarch64 +10 | 6.4.0-150600.23.33.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:0154-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | kernel-azure +2 | 6.4.0-150600.8.23.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:0117-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | kernel-default-base | 6.4.0-150600.23.33.1.150600.12.14.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:0154-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | kernel-rt +3 | 6.4.0-150600.10.23.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:0153-1 |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 2 (CBL-Mariner) | kernel | No fix yet | — |
Oracle Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Linux 9 | bpftool | 7.5.0-802.el9_6 | ELSA-2025-6966 |
| Oracle Linux 9 | kernel-uek +34 | 6.12.0-101.33.4.3.el10uek | ELSA-2025-20530, ELSA-2025-20480 |
| Oracle Linux 9 | rv +28 | 5.14.0-570.12.1.0.1.el9_6 | ELSA-2025-6966 |
Advisories 23
- RHSA-2025:6966 Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Nov 13, 2026
- USN-7449-1 linux, linux-aws, linux-azure, linux-azure-6.8, linux-ibm, linux-lowlatency, linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8, linux-nvidia, linux-nvidia-6.8, linux-nvidia-lowlatency, linux-oem-6.8, linux-oracle, linux-oracle-6.8 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-7450-1 linux-gcp, linux-gke, linux-gkeop vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-7468-1 linux-azure-nvidia vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-7453-1 linux-realtime vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-7451-1 linux-aws-6.8 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-7524-1 linux-raspi vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-7523-1 linux-raspi-realtime vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-7310-1 linux-oem-6.11 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-7449-2 linux-hwe-6.8 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-7452-1 linux-gcp-6.8 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:20165-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:20166-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:20248-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:20249-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- DLA-4076-1 linux-6.1 - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:0117-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:0153-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:0154-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:0289-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- ELSA-2025-20530 Important: Unbreakable Enterprise kernel security update (Oracle Linux 9) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Aug 18, 2025
- ELSA-2025-20480 Important: Unbreakable Enterprise kernel security update (Oracle Linux 9) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Jul 17, 2025
- ELSA-2025-6966 Moderate: kernel security update (Oracle Linux 9) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · May 16, 2025
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c386fb76f01794f1023d01a6ec5f5c93d00acd3b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8f3551f67991652c83469c7dd51d7b9b187b265f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/eeb0b9b9e66b0b54cdad8e1c1cf0f55e8ba4211c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ac064c656f105b9122bc43991a170f95f72b7a43
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5c1b544563005a00591a3aa86ecff62ed4d11be3