CVE-2021-47493

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

ocfs2: fix race between searching chunks and release journal_head from buffer_head

Encountered a race between ocfs2_test_bg_bit_allocatable() and jbd2_journal_put_journal_head() resulting in the below vmcore.

PID: 106879 TASK: ffff880244ba9c00 CPU: 2 COMMAND: loop3 Call trace: panic oops_end no_context __bad_area_nosemaphore bad_area_nosemaphore __do_page_fault do_page_fault page_fault [exception RIP: ocfs2_block_group_find_clear_bits+316] ocfs2_block_group_find_clear_bits [ocfs2] ocfs2_cluster_group_search [ocfs2] ocfs2_search_chain [ocfs2] ocfs2_claim_suballoc_bits [ocfs2] __ocfs2_claim_clusters [ocfs2] ocfs2_claim_clusters [ocfs2] ocfs2_local_alloc_slide_window [ocfs2] ocfs2_reserve_local_alloc_bits [ocfs2] ocfs2_reserve_clusters_with_limit [ocfs2] ocfs2_reserve_clusters [ocfs2] ocfs2_lock_refcount_allocators [ocfs2] ocfs2_make_clusters_writable [ocfs2] ocfs2_replace_cow [ocfs2] ocfs2_refcount_cow [ocfs2] ocfs2_file_write_iter [ocfs2] lo_rw_aio loop_queue_work kthread_worker_fn kthread ret_from_fork

When ocfs2_test_bg_bit_allocatable() called bh2jh(bg_bh), the bg_bh->b_private NULL as jbd2_journal_put_journal_head() raced and released the jounal head from the buffer head. Needed to take bit lock for the bit BH_JournalHead to fix this race.

Weakness

The product contains a concurrent code sequence that requires temporary, exclusive access to a shared resource, but a timing window exists in which the shared resource can be modified by another code sequence operating concurrently.

Affected Software

Extended Description

A race condition occurs within concurrent environments, and it is effectively a property of a code sequence. Depending on the context, a code sequence may be in the form of a function call, a small number of instructions, a series of program invocations, etc. A race condition violates these properties, which are closely related:

A race condition exists when an “interfering code sequence” can still access the shared resource, violating exclusivity. The interfering code sequence could be “trusted” or “untrusted.” A trusted interfering code sequence occurs within the product; it cannot be modified by the attacker, and it can only be invoked indirectly. An untrusted interfering code sequence can be authored directly by the attacker, and typically it is external to the vulnerable product.

Potential Mitigations

• Minimize the usage of shared resources in order to remove as much complexity as possible from the control flow and to reduce the likelihood of unexpected conditions occurring.
• Additionally, this will minimize the amount of synchronization necessary and may even help to reduce the likelihood of a denial of service where an attacker may be able to repeatedly trigger a critical section (CWE-400).

Related Attack Patterns

• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/26.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/29.html

References

• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2e382600e8856ea654677b5134ee66e03ea72bc2
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5043fbd294f5909a080ade0f04b70a4da9e122b7
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6f1b228529ae49b0f85ab89bcdb6c365df401558
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2e382600e8856ea654677b5134ee66e03ea72bc2
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5043fbd294f5909a080ade0f04b70a4da9e122b7
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6f1b228529ae49b0f85ab89bcdb6c365df401558