CVE-2024-26983

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

bootconfig: use memblock_free_late to free xbc memory to buddy

On the time to free xbc memory in xbc_exit(), memblock may has handed over memory to buddy allocator. So it doesnt make sense to free memory back to memblock. memblock_free() called by xbc_exit() even causes UAF bugs on architectures with CONFIG_ARCH_KEEP_MEMBLOCK disabled like x86. Following KASAN logs shows this case.

This patch fixes the xbc memory free problem by calling memblock_free() in early xbc init error rewind path and calling memblock_free_late() in xbc exit path to free memory to buddy allocator.

[ 9.410890] ================================================================== [ 9.418962] BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in memblock_isolate_range+0x12d/0x260 [ 9.426850] Read of size 8 at addr ffff88845dd30000 by task swapper/0/1

[ 9.435901] CPU: 9 PID: 1 Comm: swapper/0 Tainted: G U 6.9.0-rc3-00208-g586b5dfb51b9 #5 [ 9.446403] Hardware name: Intel Corporation RPLP LP5 (CPU:RaptorLake)/RPLP LP5 (ID:13), BIOS IRPPN02.01.01.00.00.19.015.D-00000000 Dec 28 2023 [ 9.460789] Call Trace: [ 9.463518] [ 9.465859] dump_stack_lvl+0x53/0x70 [ 9.469949] print_report+0xce/0x610 [ 9.473944] ? __virt_addr_valid+0xf5/0x1b0 [ 9.478619] ? memblock_isolate_range+0x12d/0x260 [ 9.483877] kasan_report+0xc6/0x100 [ 9.487870] ? memblock_isolate_range+0x12d/0x260 [ 9.493125] memblock_isolate_range+0x12d/0x260 [ 9.498187] memblock_phys_free+0xb4/0x160 [ 9.502762] ? __pfx_memblock_phys_free+0x10/0x10 [ 9.508021] ? mutex_unlock+0x7e/0xd0 [ 9.512111] ? __pfx_mutex_unlock+0x10/0x10 [ 9.516786] ? kernel_init_freeable+0x2d4/0x430 [ 9.521850] ? __pfx_kernel_init+0x10/0x10 [ 9.526426] xbc_exit+0x17/0x70 [ 9.529935] kernel_init+0x38/0x1e0 [ 9.533829] ? _raw_spin_unlock_irq+0xd/0x30 [ 9.538601] ret_from_fork+0x2c/0x50 [ 9.542596] ? __pfx_kernel_init+0x10/0x10 [ 9.547170] ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 [ 9.551552]

[ 9.555649] The buggy address belongs to the physical page: [ 9.561875] page: refcount:0 mapcount:0 mapping:0000000000000000 index:0x1 pfn:0x45dd30 [ 9.570821] flags: 0x200000000000000(node=0|zone=2) [ 9.576271] page_type: 0xffffffff() [ 9.580167] raw: 0200000000000000 ffffea0011774c48 ffffea0012ba1848 0000000000000000 [ 9.588823] raw: 0000000000000001 0000000000000000 00000000ffffffff 0000000000000000 [ 9.597476] page dumped because: kasan: bad access detected

[ 9.605362] Memory state around the buggy address: [ 9.610714] ffff88845dd2ff00: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 [ 9.618786] ffff88845dd2ff80: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 [ 9.626857] >ffff88845dd30000: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff [ 9.634930] ^ [ 9.638534] ffff88845dd30080: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff [ 9.646605] ffff88845dd30100: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff [ 9.654675] ==================================================================

Weakness

Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code.

Affected Software

Extended Description

The use of previously-freed memory can have any number of adverse consequences, ranging from the corruption of valid data to the execution of arbitrary code, depending on the instantiation and timing of the flaw. The simplest way data corruption may occur involves the system’s reuse of the freed memory. Use-after-free errors have two common and sometimes overlapping causes:

In this scenario, the memory in question is allocated to another pointer validly at some point after it has been freed. The original pointer to the freed memory is used again and points to somewhere within the new allocation. As the data is changed, it corrupts the validly used memory; this induces undefined behavior in the process. If the newly allocated data happens to hold a class, in C++ for example, various function pointers may be scattered within the heap data. If one of these function pointers is overwritten with an address to valid shellcode, execution of arbitrary code can be achieved.

Potential Mitigations

References

• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1e7feb31a18c197d63a5e606025ed63c762f8918
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5a7dfb8fcd3f29fc93161100179b27f24f3d5f35
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/89f9a1e876b5a7ad884918c03a46831af202c8a0
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e46d3be714ad9652480c6db129ab8125e2d20ab7
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1e7feb31a18c197d63a5e606025ed63c762f8918
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5a7dfb8fcd3f29fc93161100179b27f24f3d5f35
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/89f9a1e876b5a7ad884918c03a46831af202c8a0
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e46d3be714ad9652480c6db129ab8125e2d20ab7