Cloudanix VulnDB

CVE-2024-44943

None

CVSS

—

EPSS

0.2%

Published

Aug 28, 2024

CISA due date

—

Cloudanix analysis

Schedule a fix SSVC: Track

A bug in the Linux kernel's memory pinning code could cause warnings or failures when starting certain secure virtual machines that use special memory areas.

Exploitation
Local Privilege
Attacker needs
Local User
Complexity
Theoretical
Impact
Denial Of Service
Component
OS kernel
Class
Other
Remediation
Upgrade
Effort
Medium
Patch risk
Low

What it actually does

Misuse of try_grab_folio in the slow GUP path for longterm pins on CMA memory pages triggers kernel warnings during SEV VM memory registration.

Why it matters to the business

Virtualization workloads using SEV on systems with CMA memory may encounter unexpected kernel warnings or pinning failures, potentially disrupting VM launches and increasing operational overhead.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker or workload triggers pin_user_pages_fast with FOLL_LONGTERM on CMA pages for SEV memory registration; fast GUP fails and falls back to slow path which reuses the same grab function causing the warning.

How to fix it

Update to a kernel containing the fix that renames try_grab_folio to try_grab_folio_fast and uses the correct grab helper in the slow path; apply the referenced commit changes.

How to confirm the fix worked

Confirm kernel version includes the redefinition of grab helpers and test SEV VM launch with CMA memory to verify absence of the warning at mm/gup.c.

Typical attack path

  1. Allocate or map memory in CMA region
  2. Launch SEV VM which calls sev_pin_memory and pin_user_pages_fast
  3. Fast GUP fails due to longterm check triggering slow path
  4. Slow path calls try_grab_folio which fails the same check and emits warning

How to detect it

Search kernel logs for the exact WARNING at mm/gup.c:1313 during qemu-kvm or SEV VM startup; inspect call traces involving __gup_longterm_locked and sev_pin_memory.

What your security team should do

  • Prioritize patching systems running SEV VMs on CMA-enabled kernels
  • Monitor for the specific GUP warning in kernel logs
  • Validate post-upgrade that pinning succeeds without fallback warnings

The record

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm: gup: stop abusing try_grab_folio A kernel warning was reported when pinning folio in CMA memory when launching SEV virtual machine. The splat looks like: [ 464.325306] WARNING: CPU: 13 PID: 6734 at mm/gup.c:1313 __get_user_pages+0x423/0x520 [ 464.325464] CPU: 13 PID: 6734 Comm: qemu-kvm Kdump: loaded Not tainted 6.6.33+ #6 [ 464.325477] RIP: 0010:__get_user_pages+0x423/0x520 [ 464.325515] Call Trace: [ 464.325520] <TASK> [ 464.325523] ? __get_user_pages+0x423/0x520 [ 464.325528] ? __warn+0x81/0x130 [ 464.325536] ? __get_user_pages+0x423/0x520 [ 464.325541] ? report_bug+0x171/0x1a0 [ 464.325549] ? handle_bug+0x3c/0x70 [ 464.325554] ? exc_invalid_op+0x17/0x70 [ 464.325558] ? asm_exc_invalid_op+0x1a/0x20 [ 464.325567] ? __get_user_pages+0x423/0x520 [ 464.325575] __gup_longterm_locked+0x212/0x7a0 [ 464.325583] internal_get_user_pages_fast+0xfb/0x190 [ 464.325590] pin_user_pages_fast+0x47/0x60 [ 464.325598] sev_pin_memory+0xca/0x170 [kvm_amd] [ 464.325616] sev_mem_enc_register_region+0x81/0x130 [kvm_amd] Per the analysis done by yangge, when starting the SEV virtual machine, it will call pin_user_pages_fast(..., FOLL_LONGTERM, ...) to pin the memory. But the page is in CMA area, so fast GUP will fail then fallback to the slow path due to the longterm pinnalbe check in try_grab_folio(). The slow path will try to pin the pages then migrate them out of CMA area. But the slow path also uses try_grab_folio() to pin the page, it will also fail due to the same check then the above warning is triggered. In addition, the try_grab_folio() is supposed to be used in fast path and it elevates folio refcount by using add ref unless zero. We are guaranteed to have at least one stable reference in slow path, so the simple atomic add could be used. The performance difference should be trivial, but the misuse may be confusing and misleading. Redefined try_grab_folio() to try_grab_folio_fast(), and try_grab_page() to try_grab_folio(), and use them in the proper paths. This solves both the abuse and the kernel warning. The proper naming makes their usecase more clear and should prevent from abusing in the future. peterx said: : The user will see the pin fails, for gpu-slow it further triggers the WARN : right below that failure (as in the original report): : : folio = try_grab_folio(page, page_increm - 1, : foll_flags); : if (WARN_ON_ONCE(!folio)) { <------------------------ here : /* : * Release the 1st page ref if the : * folio is problematic, fail hard. : */ : gup_put_folio(page_folio(page), 1, : foll_flags); : ret = -EFAULT; : goto out; : } [1] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-mm/1719478388-31917-1-git-send-email-yangge1116@126.com/ [shy828301@gmail.com: fix implicit declaration of function try_grab_folio_fast] Link: https://lkml.kernel.org/r/CAHbLzkowMSso-4Nufc9hcMehQsK9PNz3OSu-+eniU-2Mm-xjhA@mail.gmail.com

Affected packages

Ecosystem Package Introduced Fixed
Debian:13 linux 0 6.10.3-1
Linux Kernel 6.6.0 6.6.47
Mageia:9 kernel 0 6.6.50-1.mga9
Mageia:9 kernel-linus 0 6.6.50-1.mga9
Mageia:9 kmod-virtualbox 0 7.0.20-53.mga9
Mageia:9 kmod-xtables-addons 0 3.24-61.mga9
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 5.15.0-1014.18~20.04.1
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 5.15.0-1007.8~20.04.1
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 5.15.0-1019.24~20.04.1.1
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 5.15.0-1006.9~20.04.1
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 5.15.0-1003.5~20.04.2
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 5.15.0-33.34~20.04.1
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 5.15.0-1033.36~20.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-intel-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-intel-iotg-5.15 0 5.15.0-1003.5~20.04.1
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 5.15.0-33.34~20.04.1
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 5.15.0-1007.9~20.04.1
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 5.15.0-1015.17~20.04.1
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 5.13.0-19.19
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-allwinner-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-aws 0 5.13.0-1005.6
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 6.8.0-1020.22~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure 0 5.13.0-1006.7
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 6.8.0-1020.23~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-fde 0 5.15.0-1019.24.1
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 5.13.0-1005.6
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 6.8.0-1019.21~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gke 0 5.15.0-1002.2
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gkeop 0 5.15.0-1001.2
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 6.8.0-50.51~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-ibm 0 5.15.0-1002.2
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-intel-iot-realtime 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-intel-iot-realtime 0 5.15.0-1021.26
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-intel-iotg 0 5.15.0-1004.6
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-kvm 0 5.13.0-1004.4
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-lowlatency 0 5.15.0-22.22
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 6.8.0-50.51.1~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia 0 5.15.0-1005.5
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-6.5 0 6.5.0-1004.4
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-6.8 0 6.8.0-1019.21~22.04.1
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 5.13.0-1008.10
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oracle-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oracle-6.8 0 6.8.0-1017.18~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-raspi 0 5.13.0-1008.9
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 6.8.0-50.51.1~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-starfive-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-starfive-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-starfive-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-xilinx-zynqmp 0 5.15.0-1022.26
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS:for:NVIDIA:BlueField linux-bluefield 0 5.15.0-1011.13
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux 0 6.8.0-50.51
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-aws 0 6.8.0-1020.22
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-azure 0 6.8.0-1020.23
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 6.8.0-1019.21
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-gke 0 6.8.0-1015.19
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-gkeop 0 6.8.0-1002.4
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-ibm 0 6.8.0-1017.17
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-lowlatency 0 6.8.0-50.51.1
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-nvidia 0 6.8.0-1019.21
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-nvidia-lowlatency 0 6.8.0-1019.21.1
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-oem-6.11 0 6.11.0-1007.7
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-oem-6.8 0 6.8.0-1018.18
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-oracle 0 6.8.0-1017.18
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-raspi 0 6.8.0-1016.18
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-raspi-realtime 0 No fix
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-realtime 0 No fix
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-riscv 0 6.8.0-50.51.1
Ubuntu:24.10 linux 0 6.11.0-7.7
Ubuntu:24.10 linux-aws 0 6.11.0-1002.2
Ubuntu:24.10 linux-azure 0 6.11.0-1003.3
Ubuntu:24.10 linux-gcp 0 6.11.0-1001.1
Ubuntu:24.10 linux-lowlatency 0 6.11.0-1002.2
Ubuntu:24.10 linux-oracle 0 6.11.0-1004.4
Ubuntu:24.10 linux-raspi 0 6.11.0-1003.3
Ubuntu:24.10 linux-realtime 0 6.11.0-1001.1
Ubuntu:24.10 linux-riscv 0 6.11.0-8.8.1
Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS linux-hwe-edge 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS linux-aws-5.0 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS linux-aws-5.3 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS linux-azure 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS linux-azure-5.3 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS linux-azure-edge 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.3 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS linux-gke-4.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS linux-gke-5.4 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS linux-gkeop-5.4 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS linux-hwe 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS linux-hwe-edge 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS linux-oem 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.0 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.3 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS linux-aws-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS linux-aws-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS linux-aws-5.8 0 No fix

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