Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
iavf: get rid of the crit lock
Get rid of the crit lock.
That frees us from the error prone logic of try_locks.
Thanks to netdev_lock() by Jakub it is now easy, and in most cases we were
protected by it already - replace crit lock by netdev lock when it was not
the case.
Lockdep reports that we should cancel the work under crit_lock [splat1],
and that was the scheme we have mostly followed since [1] by Slawomir.
But when that is done we still got into deadlocks [splat2]. So instead
we should look at the bigger problem, namely "weird locking/scheduling"
of the iavf. The first step to fix that is to remove the crit lock.
I will followup with a -next series that simplifies scheduling/tasks.
Cancel the work without netdev lock (weird unlock+lock scheme),
to fix the [splat2] (which would be totally ugly if we would kept
the crit lock).
Extend protected part of iavf_watchdog_task() to include scheduling
more work.
Note that the removed comment in iavf_reset_task() was misplaced,
it belonged to inside of the removed if condition, so it's gone now.
[splat1] - w/o this patch - The deadlock during VF removal:
WARNING: possible circular locking dependency detected
sh/3825 is trying to acquire lock:
((work_completion)(&(&adapter->watchdog_task)->work)){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: start_flush_work+0x1a1/0x470
but task is already holding lock:
(&adapter->crit_lock){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: iavf_remove+0xd1/0x690 [iavf]
which lock already depends on the new lock.
[splat2] - when cancelling work under crit lock, w/o this series,
see [2] for the band aid attempt
WARNING: possible circular locking dependency detected
sh/3550 is trying to acquire lock:
((wq_completion)iavf){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: touch_wq_lockdep_map+0x26/0x90
but task is already holding lock:
(&dev->lock){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: iavf_remove+0xa6/0x6e0 [iavf]
which lock already depends on the new lock.
[1] fc2e6b3b132a ("iavf: Rework mutexes for better synchronisation")
[2] https://github.com/pkitszel/linux/commit/52dddbfc2bb60294083f5711a158a
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.1.42 – < 6.2, 6.4.7 – < 6.5, 6.5 | 6.2 |
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 | 6.16.3-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | linux | No fix yet | — |
| Debian 12 | linux | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Nvidia-BlueField 24.04 LTS | linux-bluefield | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 25.10 | linux-azure-fde | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 25.04 | linux-azure | 6.14.0-1012.12 | USN-7770-1 |
| Ubuntu 25.04 | linux-raspi | 6.14.0-1014.14 | USN-7789-2 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux +28 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-aws-6.14 +1 | 6.14.0-1013.13~24.04.1 | USN-7789-1, USN-7769-3 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-azure-nvidia-6.14 | 6.14.0-1007.7 | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gcp-6.14 | 6.14.0-1016.17~24.04.1 | USN-7769-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-hwe-6.14 | 6.14.0-32.32~24.04.1 | USN-7769-3 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-oem-6.14 | 6.14.0-1012.12 | USN-7771-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-riscv-6.14 | 6.14.0-32.32.1~24.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-riscv +42 | No fix yet | — |
Show 6 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-gke +28 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-gcp +14 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | linux-hwe-edge | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-realtime +1 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-realtime-6.14 | 6.14.0-1012.12~24.04.1 | USN-7769-2 |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 22.04 LTS | linux-realtime-6.8 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 24.04 LTS | linux-fips +3 | No fix yet | — |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES for SAP 16.0 | kernel-64kb +7 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:21139-1 |
| SLES for SAP 16.0 | kernel-default-base | 6.12.0-160000.6.1.160000.2.4 | SUSE-SU-2025:21139-1 |
| SLES 16.0 | kernel-64kb +7 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:21179-1, SUSE-SU-2025:21139-1 |
| SLES 16.0 | kernel-default-base | 6.12.0-160000.6.1.160000.2.4 | SUSE-SU-2025:21139-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.2 | kernel-default-base | 6.12.0-160000.6.1.160000.2.4 | SUSE-SU-2025:21074-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.2 | kernel-rt +5 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:20560-1, SUSE-SU-2025:21074-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | kernel-default-base | 6.12.0-160000.6.1.160000.2.4 | openSUSE-SU-2025:20081-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | kernel-rt +10 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 | openSUSE-SU-2025:20081-1 |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | kernel | No fix yet | — |
Advisories 13
- WID-SEC-2025-1522 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen ermöglichen Denial of Service BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-7789-1 linux-oracle-6.14 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-7769-2 linux-realtime-6.14 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-7771-1 linux-oem-6.14 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-7769-1 linux, linux-aws, linux-gcp, linux-gcp-6.14, linux-oracle, linux-realtime vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-7769-3 linux-aws-6.14, linux-hwe-6.14 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:20560-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jul 9, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2025:20081-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:21179-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:21139-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:21074-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- USN-7789-2 linux-raspi vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Feb 4, 2026
- USN-7770-1 linux-azure vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Feb 4, 2026