Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
slab: fix kmalloc_nolock() context check for PREEMPT_RT
On PREEMPT_RT kernels, local_lock becomes a sleeping lock. The current
check in kmalloc_nolock() only verifies we're not in NMI or hard IRQ
context, but misses the case where preemption is disabled.
When a BPF program runs from a tracepoint with preemption disabled
(preempt_count > 0), kmalloc_nolock() proceeds to call
local_lock_irqsave() which attempts to acquire a sleeping lock,
triggering:
BUG: sleeping function called from invalid context
in_atomic(): 1, irqs_disabled(): 0, non_block: 0, pid: 6128
preempt_count: 2, expected: 0
Fix this by checking !preemptible() on PREEMPT_RT, which directly
expresses the constraint that we cannot take a sleeping lock when
preemption is disabled. This encompasses the previous checks for NMI
and hard IRQ contexts while also catching cases where preemption is
disabled.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.18 | 6.18.8 |
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 | 6.18.8-1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-riscv +11 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-riscv +32 | No fix yet | — |
| 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 | — |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-realtime-6.14 | No fix yet | — |
Advisories 1
- WID-SEC-2026-0421 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 12, 2026