Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
gcov: use atomic counter updates to fix concurrent access crashes
GCC's GCOV instrumentation can merge global branch counters with loop
induction variables as an optimization. In inflate_fast(), the inner copy
loops get transformed so that the GCOV counter value is loaded multiple
times to compute the loop base address, start index, and end bound. Since
GCOV counters are global (not per-CPU), concurrent execution on different
CPUs causes the counter to change between loads, producing inconsistent
values and out-of-bounds memory writes.
The crash manifests during IPComp (IP Payload Compression) processing when
inflate_fast() runs concurrently on multiple CPUs:
BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffffd0a3c0902ffa
RIP: inflate_fast+1431
Call Trace:
zlib_inflate
__deflate_decompress
crypto_comp_decompress
ipcomp_decompress [xfrm_ipcomp]
ipcomp_input [xfrm_ipcomp]
xfrm_input
At the crash point, the compiler generated three loads from the same
global GCOV counter (__gcov0.inflate_fast+216) to compute base, start, and
end for an indexed loop. Another CPU modified the counter between loads,
making the values inconsistent - the write went 3.4 MB past a 65 KB
buffer.
Add -fprofile-update=prefer-atomic to CFLAGS_GCOV at the global level in
the top-level Makefile, guarded by a try-run compile test. The test
compiles a minimal program with and without -fprofile-update=prefer-atomic
using the full KBUILD_CFLAGS, then compares undefined symbols in the
resulting object files. If prefer-atomic introduces new undefined
references (such as __atomic_fetch_add_8 on i386 or __aarch64_ldadd8_relax
on arm64 with outline-atomics), the flag is not added -- the kernel does
not link against libatomic.
On architectures where GCC inlines 64-bit atomic counter updates (x86_64,
s390, ...) the test passes and the flag is enabled, preventing the
compiler from merging counters with loop induction variables and fixing
the observed concurrent-access crash.
On architectures where the flag would introduce libatomic dependencies, it
is silently omitted and behaviour is no worse than before this patch.
Move the CFLAGS_GCOV block from its original position (before the arch
Makefile include) to after the core KBUILD_CFLAGS assignments but before
the scripts/Makefile.gcc-plugins include. This placement ensures the
try-run test sees arch-specific flags (-m32, -march=,
-mno-outline-atomics) while avoiding GCC plugin flags (-fplugin=) that
would break the test on clean builds when plugin shared objects do not yet
exist.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 2.6.31 | 6.1.191 |
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 | 7.1.3-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | linux | 6.12.115-2 | — |
| Debian 12 | linux | No fix yet | — |
| Debian 12 | linux-6.12 | 6.12.115-2~deb12u1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Nvidia-BlueField 24.04 LTS | linux-bluefield | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Nvidia-BlueField 22.04 LTS | linux-bluefield | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux | 7.0.0-31.31 | USN-8726-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-aws | 7.0.0-1012.12 | USN-8726-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-azure | 7.0.0-1014.14 | USN-8726-4 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-gcp +1 | 7.0.0-1011.11 | USN-8726-4, USN-8726-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-gke | 7.0.0-1006.7 | USN-8726-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-ibm +2 | 7.0.0-1013.13 | USN-8727-1, USN-8726-3 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-nvidia | 7.0.0-1018.18 | USN-8760-2 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-nvidia-bos | 7.0.0-2018.18 | USN-8800-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-raspi | 7.0.0-1019.19 | USN-8726-2 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-riscv +1 | 7.0.0-31.31.1 | USN-8726-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux +43 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-aws-7.0 | 7.0.0-1012.12~24.04.1 | USN-8726-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-azure-7.0 | 7.0.0-1014.14~24.04.1 | USN-8728-2 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-azure-fde-7.0 | 7.0.0-1013.13~24.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gcp-7.0 +1 | 7.0.0-1011.11~24.04.1 | USN-8728-3, USN-8728-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-hwe-7.0 | 7.0.0-31.31~24.04.1 | USN-8726-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-nvidia-7.0 | 7.0.0-1018.18~24.04.1 | USN-8760-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-nvidia-tegra | 6.8.0-1035.38 | USN-8781-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-riscv-7.0 | 7.0.0-31.31.1~24.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux +59 | No fix yet | — |
Show 18 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 +3 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 22.04 LTS | linux-realtime +2 | No fix yet | — |
| 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 +3 | No fix yet | — |
| 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 | — |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | kernel-source | 7.1.4-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:11339-1 |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | kernel | 6.6.161.1-1 | — |
Advisories 14
- USN-8726-1 linux, linux-aws, linux-aws-7.0, linux-gcp, linux-gke, linux-hwe-7.0, linux-realtime vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 13, 2026
- USN-8728-1 linux-gcp-7.0 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 13, 2026
- USN-8726-4 linux-azure, linux-oracle vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 13, 2026
- USN-8760-1 linux-nvidia-7.0 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 13, 2026
- USN-8728-3 linux-oracle-7.0 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 13, 2026
- USN-8728-2 linux-azure-7.0 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 13, 2026
- USN-8800-1 linux-nvidia-bos vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 13, 2026
- USN-8726-2 linux-raspi vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 13, 2026
- USN-8726-3 linux-ibm vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 13, 2026
- USN-8727-1 linux-oem-7.0 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 13, 2026
- USN-8760-2 linux-nvidia vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 13, 2026
- WID-SEC-2026-2403 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen ermöglichen nicht spezifizierten Angriff BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-8781-1 linux-nvidia-tegra vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 9, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:11339-1 kernel-devel-7.1.4-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jul 23, 2026
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/76cb9fde95eba4bd8f06d142a8b8810bf2d09de4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b0f7bd5eeb903a0021a80e9d704814e2a9d3998c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4575852c23a10abc7648d31e4c12cf79d7391637
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/49d893b9cbcfc5802a32e53a64c6c6956670d65b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5b959c1dbb4522b9e3ac4e26ad638b8784869841
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/56cb9b7d96b28a1173a510ab25354b6599ad3a33