Upstream information
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:mm/huge_memory: fix huge_zero_pfn race
Patch series "mm/huge_memory: fix huge_zero_pfn race", v2.
There is a subtle race in the reference-counted huge_zero_folio
implementation.
The fast path atomic logic fails to account for the fact that the shrinker
(which drops the final huge_zero_refcount pin) can overwrite huge_zero_pfn
with the ~0UL sentinel value in shrink_huge_zero_folio_scan() after a
racing get_huge_zero_folio() installed a valid value there.
This results in huge_zero_folio being correctly set but huge_zero_pfn
being set incorrectly and thus is_huge_zero_pfn() and consequently
is_huge_zero_pmd() will misidentify the huge zero folio as being an
ordinary THP folio.
This can result in the huge zero folio being split and otherwise treated
incorrectly.
The solution to this is very subtle as there is an atomic fast path, and
thus ordering in weakly ordered architectures has to be treated very
carefully.
The first commit fixes the issue by introducing a spinlock around
huge_zero_[pfn, folio, refcount] write, with careful consideration paid to
load/store ordering in the fast path. It is placed first and kept as
small as possible so that it can be backported on its own.
The second commit is a pure cleanup which reworks the
CONFIG_PERSISTENT_HUGE_ZERO_FOLIO logic to better separate the persistent
logic from the dynamically allocated one.
This patch (of 2):
If !CONFIG_PERSISTENT_HUGE_ZERO_FOLIO, the huge_zero_folio is refcounted
by huge_zero_refcount and returned by mm_get_huge_zero_folio().
When the caller is done with the huge zero page, its reference count is
decremented. Only a shrinker can set the reference count to zero.
A race can unfortunately occur between a shrinker decrementing the
reference count to zero and a concurrent page fault.
This is because shrink_huge_zero_folio_scan() might, if very unlucky, be
preempted between setting huge_zero_refcount to zero and writing an
invalid value.
During this time get_huge_zero_folio() could write to huge_zero_pfn before
shrink_huge_zero_folio_scan() resumes.
In this event the huge zero folio will be persistently misidentified
causing the THP code path to be entered inappropriately for the huge zero
folio:
CPU 0 CPU 1
=======================================|=================================
shrink_huge_zero_folio_scan() |
atomic_cmpxchg() sets refcount to 0 |
xchg() sets huge_zero_folio to NULL | get_huge_zero_folio()
| | atomic_inc_not_zero() -> zero
preempted for a long time | Allocate new huge zero folio
| | Write valid huge_zero_folio
v | Write valid huge_zero_pfn
Overwrite huge_zero_pfn with ~0UL <--- Invalid overwrite!
This results in is_huge_zero_pfn() and is_huge_zero_pmd() incorrectly
returning false for a huge zero page which could result in issues like the
huge zero folio being incorrectly split.
Note that the issue is with huge_zero_pfn not huge_zero_folio, as
get_huge_zero_folio() uses cmpxchg() gated on huge_zero_folio being NULL
with a retry loop and shrink_huge_zero_folio_scan() uses xchg() to set
huge_zero_folio.
Fix the issue by introducing a spinlock, huge_zero_lock, to prevent
concurrent write of huge_zero_folio, huge_zero_pfn and huge_zero_refcount.
There needs to be significant care taken here to ensure correctness:
The fast path in get_huge_zero_folio() uses atomic_inc_not_zero(), which
is outside of the critical section, and means huge zero allocation is
gated on zero huge_zero_refcount.
The fast path doesn't use huge_zero_lock, so the critical section is
irrelevant to it.
So invariants are required - huge_zero_refcount MUST:
* Only be set in the huge_zero_lock critical section to ensure
serialisation of huge_zero_pfn, huge_zero_folio and
---truncated---
SUSE information
Overall state of this security issue: Pending
This issue is currently rated as having moderate severity.
| CVSS detail | CNA (NVD) | Linux Kernel CNA | SUSE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 7.8 | 7.8 | 4.7 |
| Vector | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
| Attack Vector | Local | Local | Local |
| Attack Complexity | Low | Low | High |
| Privileges Required | Low | Low | Low |
| User Interaction | None | None | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality Impact | High | High | None |
| Integrity Impact | High | High | None |
| Availability Impact | High | High | High |
| CVSSv3 Version | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.1 |
Note from the SUSE Security Team on the kernel-default package
SUSE will no longer fix all CVEs in the Linux Kernel anymore, but declare some bug classes as won't fix. Please refer to TID 21496 for more details. SUSE Bugzilla entry: 1278199 [NEW] No SUSE Security Announcements cross referenced.Status of this issue by product and package
Please note that this evaluation state might be work in progress, incomplete or outdated. Also information for service packs in the LTSS phase is only included for issues meeting the LTSS criteria. If in doubt, feel free to contact us for clarification. The updates are grouped by state of their lifecycle. SUSE product lifecycles are documented on the lifecycle page.
| Product(s) | Source package | State |
|---|---|---|
| Products under general support and receiving all security fixes. | ||
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 | kernel-default | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 | kernel-default | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 16.0 | kernel-default | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 16.0 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 16.1 | kernel-default | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 16.1 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP7 | kernel-default | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP7 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 | kernel-default | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 | kernel-rt | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 | kernel-source-rt | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 | kernel-default | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 | kernel-rt | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 | kernel-source-rt | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 | kernel-default | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 | kernel-source-rt | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | kernel-default | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP7 | kernel-default | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP7 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP7 | kernel-source-rt | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 | kernel-default | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.0 | kernel-default | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.0 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.1 | kernel-default | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.1 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP7 | kernel-default | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP7 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.0 | kernel-default | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.0 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.1 | kernel-default | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.1 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP7 | kernel-default | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP7 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.0 | kernel-default | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.0 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.0 | kernel-source-rt | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.1 | kernel-default | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.1 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.1 | kernel-source-rt | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.2 | kernel-default | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.2 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro Extras 6.0 | kernel-default | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro Extras 6.0 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro Extras 6.0 | kernel-source-rt | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro Extras 6.1 | kernel-default | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro Extras 6.1 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Real Time Module 15 SP7 | kernel-source-rt | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| Products under Long Term Service Pack support and receiving important and critical security fixes. | ||
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 12 SP5 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS | kernel-default | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-LTSS | kernel-default | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-LTSS | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP4 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP5 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP4 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP5 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP6 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4 LTSS EXTREME CORE | kernel-default | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4 LTSS EXTREME CORE | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS | kernel-default | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4-LTSS | kernel-default | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4-LTSS | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5-LTSS | kernel-default | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5-LTSS | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6-LTSS | kernel-default | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6-LTSS | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server LTSS Extended Security 12 SP5 | kernel-default | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server LTSS Extended Security 12 SP5 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP4 | kernel-default | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP4 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP5 | kernel-default | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP5 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP6 | kernel-default | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP6 | kernel-source | Affected |
| Products past their end of life and not receiving proactive updates anymore. | ||
| SUSE CaaS Platform 4.0 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 6 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 7 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 7.1 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11 SP4 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP1 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP2 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP3 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP4 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP5 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP6 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-ESPOS | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-LTSS | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2-ESPOS | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2-LTSS | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-ESPOS | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-ESPOS | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-ESPOS | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.0 | kernel-default | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.1 | kernel-default | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.2 | kernel-default | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.2 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP1 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP2 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP3 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP1 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP2 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP3 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP2 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP3 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP4 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP4 | kernel-source-rt | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP5 | kernel-source-rt | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4-LTSS | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-BCL | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-LTSS | kernel-default | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-LTSS | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-BCL | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-LTSS | kernel-default | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-LTSS | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-BCL | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS | kernel-default | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP1 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP2 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP3 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.0 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.1 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.2 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.3 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy LTS 4.3 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.0 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.1 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.2 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.3 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server LTS 4.3 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.0 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.1 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.2 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.3 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server LTS 4.3 | kernel-source | Affected |
| SUSE Real Time Module 15 SP4 | kernel-source-rt | Affected |
| SUSE Real Time Module 15 SP5 | kernel-source-rt | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.3 | kernel-source | Not affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.4 | kernel-source | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.4 | kernel-source-rt | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.5 | kernel-source | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.5 | kernel-source-rt | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | kernel-source | Affected |
SUSE Timeline for this CVE
CVE page created: Wed Sep 2 17:14:12 2026CVE page last modified: Wed Sep 2 17:14:12 2026