Cloudanix VulnDB

CVE-2024-35971

None

CVSS

—

EPSS

0.7%

Published

May 20, 2024

CISA due date

—

Cloudanix analysis

Monitor only SSVC: Track

A networking driver bug in Linux can make the whole computer freeze when handling incoming network traffic.

Exploitation
Other
Attacker needs
Local User
Complexity
Moderate
Impact
Denial Of Service
Component
OS kernel
Class
Race Condition
Remediation
Patch
Effort
Medium
Patch risk
Low

What it actually does

Race condition in ks8851 Ethernet driver IRQ handler causes deadlock: ks8851_irq holds spinlock while calling netif_rx, which can trigger softirqs leading to ks8851_start_xmit_par attempting to reacquire the same lock.

Why it matters to the business

Systems using the affected ks8851 driver may experience sudden hangs or freezes during normal network operations, leading to downtime and requiring manual intervention or reboots; the issue affects Linux kernel deployments with this hardware.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker or even routine network traffic (such as ARP processing) sends packets that reach the ks8851_irq handler; the handler disables BHs incorrectly around the spinlock, allowing net_rx_action to invoke the transmit path while the lock is held, resulting in deadlock. No sophisticated threat actor techniques are required beyond triggering the driver's receive path.

How to fix it

Update the Linux kernel to a version containing commit 492337a4fbd1421b42df684ee9b34be2a2722540 or later; rebuild and deploy the updated kernel image on affected systems.

How to confirm the fix worked

Confirm the running kernel contains the fix commit; reproduce network load on ks8851 interfaces and verify absence of hangs; inspect driver source for local_bh_disable around the full spinlock section and use of __netif_rx.

Typical attack path

  1. Send network packets (e.g., ARP) to the ks8851 interface
  2. ks8851_irq thread acquires spinlock and calls netif_rx
  3. local_bh_enable triggers net_rx_action softirq
  4. softirq calls into ks8851_start_xmit_par which attempts to acquire the held spinlock
  5. System hangs due to deadlock

How to detect it

Review kernel logs and crash dumps for spinlock deadlock traces involving ks8851_lock_par, netif_rx, and net_rx_action; look for system hangs coinciding with ks8851 IRQ activity.

What your security team should do

  • Prioritize kernel updates on all systems exposing ks8851 hardware within the next maintenance window
  • Monitor for upstream stable kernel releases that include the fix
  • Test updated kernels in staging environments with network stress before production rollout
  • Review device drivers in use and consider hardware alternatives if updates are delayed

The record

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: ks8851: Handle softirqs at the end of IRQ thread to fix hang The ks8851_irq() thread may call ks8851_rx_pkts() in case there are any packets in the MAC FIFO, which calls netif_rx(). This netif_rx() implementation is guarded by local_bh_disable() and local_bh_enable(). The local_bh_enable() may call do_softirq() to run softirqs in case any are pending. One of the softirqs is net_rx_action, which ultimately reaches the driver .start_xmit callback. If that happens, the system hangs. The entire call chain is below: ks8851_start_xmit_par from netdev_start_xmit netdev_start_xmit from dev_hard_start_xmit dev_hard_start_xmit from sch_direct_xmit sch_direct_xmit from __dev_queue_xmit __dev_queue_xmit from __neigh_update __neigh_update from neigh_update neigh_update from arp_process.constprop.0 arp_process.constprop.0 from __netif_receive_skb_one_core __netif_receive_skb_one_core from process_backlog process_backlog from __napi_poll.constprop.0 __napi_poll.constprop.0 from net_rx_action net_rx_action from __do_softirq __do_softirq from call_with_stack call_with_stack from do_softirq do_softirq from __local_bh_enable_ip __local_bh_enable_ip from netif_rx netif_rx from ks8851_irq ks8851_irq from irq_thread_fn irq_thread_fn from irq_thread irq_thread from kthread kthread from ret_from_fork The hang happens because ks8851_irq() first locks a spinlock in ks8851_par.c ks8851_lock_par() spin_lock_irqsave(&ksp->lock, ...) and with that spinlock locked, calls netif_rx(). Once the execution reaches ks8851_start_xmit_par(), it calls ks8851_lock_par() again which attempts to claim the already locked spinlock again, and the hang happens. Move the do_softirq() call outside of the spinlock protected section of ks8851_irq() by disabling BHs around the entire spinlock protected section of ks8851_irq() handler. Place local_bh_enable() outside of the spinlock protected section, so that it can trigger do_softirq() without the ks8851_par.c ks8851_lock_par() spinlock being held, and safely call ks8851_start_xmit_par() without attempting to lock the already locked spinlock. Since ks8851_irq() is protected by local_bh_disable()/local_bh_enable() now, replace netif_rx() with __netif_rx() which is not duplicating the local_bh_disable()/local_bh_enable() calls.

Affected packages

Ecosystem Package Introduced Fixed
Debian:11 linux 0 No fix
Debian:12 linux 0 6.1.90-1
Debian:13 linux 0 6.8.9-1
Linux Kernel 5.8.0 6.1.87
SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP5 kernel-default 0 5.14.21-150500.55.80.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP6 kernel-default 0 6.4.0-150600.23.7.3
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP5 kernel-default 0 5.14.21-150500.55.80.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP5 kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP5-RT_Update_19 0 1-150500.11.3.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP5 kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP5_Update_19 0 1-150500.11.3.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP6 kernel-default 0 6.4.0-150600.23.7.3
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP6 kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP6-RT_Update_1 0 1-150600.1.5.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP6 kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP6_Update_1 0 1-150600.13.3.7
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 kernel-default 0 5.14.21-150500.55.80.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 kernel-default-base 0 5.14.21-150500.55.80.2.150500.6.35.6
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 kernel-rt 0 5.14.21-150500.13.67.3
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 kernel-source-rt 0 5.14.21-150500.13.67.3
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP5 kernel-64kb 0 5.14.21-150500.55.80.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP5 kernel-default 0 5.14.21-150500.55.80.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP5 kernel-default-base 0 5.14.21-150500.55.80.2.150500.6.35.6
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP5 kernel-source 0 5.14.21-150500.55.80.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP5 kernel-zfcpdump 0 5.14.21-150500.55.80.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 kernel-64kb 0 6.4.0-150600.23.7.3
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 kernel-default 0 6.4.0-150600.23.7.3
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 kernel-default-base 0 6.4.0-150600.23.7.3.150600.12.2.7
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 kernel-source 0 6.4.0-150600.23.7.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 kernel-zfcpdump 0 6.4.0-150600.23.7.3
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP5 kernel-docs 0 5.14.21-150500.55.80.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP5 kernel-obs-build 0 5.14.21-150500.55.80.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP5 kernel-source 0 5.14.21-150500.55.80.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP5 kernel-syms 0 5.14.21-150500.55.80.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP6 kernel-docs 0 6.4.0-150600.23.7.4
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP6 kernel-obs-build 0 6.4.0-150600.23.7.3
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP6 kernel-source 0 6.4.0-150600.23.7.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP6 kernel-syms 0 6.4.0-150600.23.7.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Legacy 15 SP5 kernel-default 0 5.14.21-150500.55.80.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Legacy 15 SP6 kernel-default 0 6.4.0-150600.23.7.3
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP5 kernel-azure 0 5.14.21-150500.33.66.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP5 kernel-source-azure 0 5.14.21-150500.33.66.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP5 kernel-syms-azure 0 5.14.21-150500.33.66.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP6 kernel-azure 0 6.4.0-150600.8.5.4
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP6 kernel-source-azure 0 6.4.0-150600.8.5.4
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP6 kernel-syms-azure 0 6.4.0-150600.8.5.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP5 kernel-default 0 5.14.21-150500.55.80.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP6 kernel-default 0 6.4.0-150600.23.7.3
SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP5 kernel-rt 0 5.14.21-150500.13.67.3
SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP5 kernel-rt_debug 0 5.14.21-150500.13.67.3
SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP5 kernel-source-rt 0 5.14.21-150500.13.67.3
SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP5 kernel-syms-rt 0 5.14.21-150500.13.67.1
SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP6 kernel-rt 0 6.4.0-150600.10.5.1
SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP6 kernel-rt_debug 0 6.4.0-150600.10.5.1
SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP6 kernel-source-rt 0 6.4.0-150600.10.5.1
SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP6 kernel-syms-rt 0 6.4.0-150600.10.5.1
Ubuntu:14.04:LTS linux 0 3.11.0-12.19
Ubuntu:14.04:LTS linux-aws 0 4.4.0-1002.2
Ubuntu:14.04:LTS linux-azure 0 4.15.0-1023.24~14.04.1
Ubuntu:14.04:LTS linux-lts-xenial 0 4.4.0-13.29~14.04.1
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux 0 4.4.0-2.16
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-aws 0 4.4.0-1001.10
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-aws-hwe 0 4.15.0-1030.31~16.04.1
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-azure 0 4.11.0-1009.9
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 4.10.0-1004.4
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-hwe 0 4.8.0-39.42~16.04.1
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-hwe-edge 0 No fix
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-kvm 0 4.4.0-1004.9
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-oracle 0 4.15.0-1007.9~16.04.1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux 0 4.13.0-16.19
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-aws 0 4.15.0-1001.1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-aws-5.0 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-aws-5.3 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-aws-5.4 0 5.4.0-1018.18~18.04.1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-azure 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-azure-4.15 0 4.15.0-1082.92
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-azure-5.3 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-azure-5.4 0 5.4.0-1020.20~18.04.1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-azure-edge 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gcp-4.15 0 4.15.0-1071.81
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.3 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.4 0 5.4.0-1019.19~18.04.2
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gke-4.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gke-5.4 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gkeop-5.4 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-hwe 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.4 0 5.4.0-37.41~18.04.1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-hwe-edge 0 5.0.0-15.16~18.04.1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-ibm-5.4 0 5.4.0-1010.11~18.04.2
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-kvm 0 4.15.0-1002.2
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-oem 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-oracle 0 4.15.0-1007.9
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.0 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.3 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.4 0 5.4.0-1019.19~18.04.1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-raspi-5.4 0 5.4.0-1013.13~18.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux 0 5.4.0-9.12
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-aws 0 5.4.0-1005.5
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-aws-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-aws-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-aws-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-aws-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure 0 5.4.0-1006.6
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure-fde 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure-fde-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-bluefield 0 5.4.0-1007.10
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 5.4.0-1005.5
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gke 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gke-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gkeop 0 5.4.0-1008.9
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gkeop-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-ibm 0 5.4.0-1003.4
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-ibm-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-intel-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-intel-iotg-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-iot 0 5.4.0-1001.3
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-kvm 0 5.4.0-1004.4
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oem-5.10 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oem-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oem-5.14 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oem-5.6 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oracle 0 5.4.0-1005.5
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-raspi 0 5.4.0-1007.7
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-raspi2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-riscv 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-riscv-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-riscv-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-riscv-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-xilinx-zynqmp 0 5.4.0-1020.24
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-allwinner-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-aws 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-aws-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-aws-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-aws-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-aws-6.8 0 6.8.0-1011.12~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-6.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-6.8 0 6.8.0-1010.10~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-fde 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-fde-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-fde-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gcp-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gcp-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gcp-6.8 0 6.8.0-1010.11~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gke 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gkeop 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-hwe-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-hwe-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-hwe-6.8 0 6.8.0-38.38~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-ibm 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-intel-iot-realtime 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-intel-iotg 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-kvm 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-lowlatency 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8 0 6.8.0-38.38.1~22.04.2
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-6.8 0 6.8.0-1009.9~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-tegra 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-tegra-igx 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oem-5.17 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oem-6.0 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oem-6.1 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oem-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oracle 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oracle-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oracle-6.8 0 6.8.0-1008.8~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-raspi 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-realtime 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-riscv 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-riscv-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-riscv-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-riscv-6.8 0 6.8.0-38.38.1~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-starfive-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-starfive-6.2 0 No fix

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