Linux Kernel Vulnerabilities in Deferred Partition Scanning Addressed with New Patches

22.11.2024

The Linux kernel development team has released patches addressing two significant vulnerabilities, CVE-2024-53093 and CVE-2024-53094, which impacted the NVMe multipath and RDMA/siw (Software iWARP) functionalities. These vulnerabilities posed risks to system stability and security, affecting various kernel versions, including long-term support (LTS) releases. Their resolution underscores the importance of timely updates to ensure system integrity.

The first vulnerability, CVE-2024-53093, involved a deadlock in the NVMe multipath functionality. This issue arose when partition scanning was conducted in the controller’s scan_work context. Under certain conditions, such as a path error, the process could cause a system hang. To address this, developers restructured the scanning process by deferring it to a non-blocking context, enabling smoother operation and avoiding potential deadlocks.

The second vulnerability, CVE-2024-53094, affected the RDMA/siw driver, commonly used for RDMA communication over TCP/IP. The flaw was triggered when running iSCSI Extensions for RDMA (iSER) over SIW, resulting in warnings about slab page usage during send_page operations. Developers resolved this issue by implementing a sendpage_ok() check. If the check fails, the MSG_SPLICE_PAGES flag is disabled before entering the network stack, thereby preventing issues with skb_splice_from_iter().

These patches cover multiple kernel versions, including 6.1.118 to 6.1., 6.6.62 to 6.6., 6.11.9 to 6.11.*, and all versions from 6.12 onwards. The fixes have been backported to affected stable releases, ensuring compatibility with existing systems. Users and administrators are strongly encouraged to apply the updates through their distribution’s package manager or standard kernel update channels.

By addressing these vulnerabilities promptly, the Linux kernel development team continues to reinforce the reliability and security of Linux-based systems. Regular updates remain essential to mitigate risks and maintain optimal performance in a rapidly evolving threat landscape.