Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
mm/damon/core: avoid use of half-online-committed context
One major usage of damon_call() is online DAMON parameters update. It is
done by calling damon_commit_ctx() inside the damon_call() callback
function. damon_commit_ctx() can fail for two reasons: 1) invalid
parameters and 2) internal memory allocation failures. In case of
failures, the damon_ctx that attempted to be updated (commit destination)
can be partially updated (or, corrupted from a perspective), and therefore
shouldn't be used anymore. The function only ensures the damon_ctx object
can safely deallocated using damon_destroy_ctx().
The API callers are, however, calling damon_commit_ctx() only after
asserting the parameters are valid, to avoid damon_commit_ctx() fails due
to invalid input parameters. But it can still theoretically fail if the
internal memory allocation fails. In the case, DAMON may run with the
partially updated damon_ctx. This can result in unexpected behaviors
including even NULL pointer dereference in case of damos_commit_dests()
failure [1]. Such allocation failure is arguably too small to fail, so
the real world impact would be rare. But, given the bad consequence, this
needs to be fixed.
Avoid such partially-committed (maybe-corrupted) damon_ctx use by saving
the damon_commit_ctx() failure on the damon_ctx object. For this,
introduce damon_ctx->maybe_corrupted field. damon_commit_ctx() sets it
when it is failed. kdamond_call() checks if the field is set after each
damon_call_control->fn() is executed. If it is set, ignore remaining
callback requests and return. All kdamond_call() callers including
kdamond_fn() also check the maybe_corrupted field right after
kdamond_call() invocations. If the field is set, break the kdamond_fn()
main loop so that DAMON sill doesn't use the context that might be
corrupted.
[sj@kernel.org: let kdamond_call() with cancel regardless of maybe_corrupted]
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.15 | 6.18.21 |
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 | 6.19.11-1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 25.10 | linux +8 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-riscv +23 | 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 | — |
Show 2 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-realtime-6.14 +1 | No fix yet | — |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2023 | kernel-livepatch-6.18.25-52.107 | 1:1.0-0.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2026-1746 |
| Amazon Linux 2023 | perf6.18 +11 | 1:6.18.25-52.107.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2026-1746 |
Advisories 2
- WID-SEC-2026-1252 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 12, 2026
- ALAS2023-2026-1746 Important: kernel6.18 security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Jul 1, 2026