Cloudanix VulnDB

CVE-2024-46790

None

CVSS

—

EPSS

0.2%

Published

Sep 18, 2024

CISA due date

—

Cloudanix analysis

Monitor only SSVC: Track

A Linux kernel bug can cause repeated warnings and wrong memory counts when the system tries to recover from certain hardware memory errors.

Exploitation
Local Privilege
Attacker needs
Local User
Complexity
Theoretical
Impact
Other
Component
OS kernel
Class
Memory Corruption
Remediation
Patch
Effort
Medium
Patch risk
Low

What it actually does

Double decrement of page allocation tag counters occurs when PG_hwpoison pages are freed via free_pages_prepare isolation and later released by unpoison_memory, triggering an alloc_tag warning and incorrect memory accounting.

Why it matters to the business

Kernel debug warnings and potential accounting errors on systems handling hardware-poisoned memory pages, increasing operational noise and complicating memory debugging in production environments with high page turnover.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker with local access triggers repeated hwpoison injection and unpoison operations on allocated pages, causing the kernel to isolate poisoned pages, decrement tags early, then decrement again on unpoison, surfacing the warning and potentially destabilizing tag-based memory tracking.

How to fix it

Upgrade the Linux kernel to a version containing commit 16ad36c8e66a26626e7d0224100b433483a2acef which clears the page tag reference after isolation and accounting. Rebuild and reboot affected systems.

How to confirm the fix worked

Confirm the patch is present by checking for the codetag clearing logic after free_pages_prepare isolation in free_unref_page paths; test with hwpoison_inject/unpoison cycles to verify no duplicate decrement warnings occur.

Typical attack path

  1. Obtain local access to a Linux system running an affected kernel
  2. Use hwpoison_inject or similar interfaces to mark pages as poisoned
  3. Trigger page free and subsequent unpoison_memory calls
  4. Observe repeated tag decrements leading to warnings and accounting drift

How to detect it

Search kernel logs for 'alloc_tag was not set' warnings originating from pgalloc_tag_sub during unpoison_memory or hwpoison_unpoison calls; correlate with debugfs writes to hwpoison interfaces.

What your security team should do

  • Prioritize kernel upgrade on systems using memory error injection or frequent hwpoison handling
  • Monitor kernel logs for alloc_tag warnings during memory stress testing
  • Apply the fix in all stable branches before next maintenance window

The record

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: codetag: debug: mark codetags for poisoned page as empty When PG_hwpoison pages are freed they are treated differently in free_pages_prepare() and instead of being released they are isolated. Page allocation tag counters are decremented at this point since the page is considered not in use. Later on when such pages are released by unpoison_memory(), the allocation tag counters will be decremented again and the following warning gets reported: [ 113.930443][ T3282] ------------[ cut here ]------------ [ 113.931105][ T3282] alloc_tag was not set [ 113.931576][ T3282] WARNING: CPU: 2 PID: 3282 at ./include/linux/alloc_tag.h:130 pgalloc_tag_sub.part.66+0x154/0x164 [ 113.932866][ T3282] Modules linked in: hwpoison_inject fuse ip6t_rpfilter ip6t_REJECT nf_reject_ipv6 ipt_REJECT nf_reject_ipv4 xt_conntrack ebtable_nat ebtable_broute ip6table_nat ip6table_man4 [ 113.941638][ T3282] CPU: 2 UID: 0 PID: 3282 Comm: madvise11 Kdump: loaded Tainted: G W 6.11.0-rc4-dirty #18 [ 113.943003][ T3282] Tainted: [W]=WARN [ 113.943453][ T3282] Hardware name: QEMU KVM Virtual Machine, BIOS unknown 2/2/2022 [ 113.944378][ T3282] pstate: 40400005 (nZcv daif +PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) [ 113.945319][ T3282] pc : pgalloc_tag_sub.part.66+0x154/0x164 [ 113.946016][ T3282] lr : pgalloc_tag_sub.part.66+0x154/0x164 [ 113.946706][ T3282] sp : ffff800087093a10 [ 113.947197][ T3282] x29: ffff800087093a10 x28: ffff0000d7a9d400 x27: ffff80008249f0a0 [ 113.948165][ T3282] x26: 0000000000000000 x25: ffff80008249f2b0 x24: 0000000000000000 [ 113.949134][ T3282] x23: 0000000000000001 x22: 0000000000000001 x21: 0000000000000000 [ 113.950597][ T3282] x20: ffff0000c08fcad8 x19: ffff80008251e000 x18: ffffffffffffffff [ 113.952207][ T3282] x17: 0000000000000000 x16: 0000000000000000 x15: ffff800081746210 [ 113.953161][ T3282] x14: 0000000000000000 x13: 205d323832335420 x12: 5b5d353031313339 [ 113.954120][ T3282] x11: ffff800087093500 x10: 000000000000005d x9 : 00000000ffffffd0 [ 113.955078][ T3282] x8 : 7f7f7f7f7f7f7f7f x7 : ffff80008236ba90 x6 : c0000000ffff7fff [ 113.956036][ T3282] x5 : ffff000b34bf4dc8 x4 : ffff8000820aba90 x3 : 0000000000000001 [ 113.956994][ T3282] x2 : ffff800ab320f000 x1 : 841d1e35ac932e00 x0 : 0000000000000000 [ 113.957962][ T3282] Call trace: [ 113.958350][ T3282] pgalloc_tag_sub.part.66+0x154/0x164 [ 113.959000][ T3282] pgalloc_tag_sub+0x14/0x1c [ 113.959539][ T3282] free_unref_page+0xf4/0x4b8 [ 113.960096][ T3282] __folio_put+0xd4/0x120 [ 113.960614][ T3282] folio_put+0x24/0x50 [ 113.961103][ T3282] unpoison_memory+0x4f0/0x5b0 [ 113.961678][ T3282] hwpoison_unpoison+0x30/0x48 [hwpoison_inject] [ 113.962436][ T3282] simple_attr_write_xsigned.isra.34+0xec/0x1cc [ 113.963183][ T3282] simple_attr_write+0x38/0x48 [ 113.963750][ T3282] debugfs_attr_write+0x54/0x80 [ 113.964330][ T3282] full_proxy_write+0x68/0x98 [ 113.964880][ T3282] vfs_write+0xdc/0x4d0 [ 113.965372][ T3282] ksys_write+0x78/0x100 [ 113.965875][ T3282] __arm64_sys_write+0x24/0x30 [ 113.966440][ T3282] invoke_syscall+0x7c/0x104 [ 113.966984][ T3282] el0_svc_common.constprop.1+0x88/0x104 [ 113.967652][ T3282] do_el0_svc+0x2c/0x38 [ 113.968893][ T3282] el0_svc+0x3c/0x1b8 [ 113.969379][ T3282] el0t_64_sync_handler+0x98/0xbc [ 113.969980][ T3282] el0t_64_sync+0x19c/0x1a0 [ 113.970511][ T3282] ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- To fix this, clear the page tag reference after the page got isolated and accounted for.

Affected packages

Ecosystem Package Introduced Fixed
Debian:13 linux 0 6.10.11-1
Linux Kernel 6.10.0 6.10.10
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-hwe-edge 0 No fix
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-azure 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-azure-5.3 0 No fix
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-5.3 0 No fix
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-edge 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-oem 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.0 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.3 0 No fix
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-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-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-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 6.8.0-38.38~22.04.1
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 6.8.0-38.38.1~22.04.2
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 6.8.0-1008.8~22.04.1
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-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 6.8.0-38.38.1~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-starfive-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-starfive-6.2 0 No fix
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 6.5.0-9.9
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-aws 0 6.5.0-1008.8
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-azure 0 6.5.0-1007.7
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 6.5.0-1007.7
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-gke 0 6.8.0-1003.5
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-gkeop 0 6.8.0-1001.3
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-ibm 0 6.5.0-1009.9
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-lowlatency 0 6.5.0-9.9.1
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-nvidia 0 6.8.0-1007.7
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-nvidia-lowlatency 0 6.8.0-1009.9.1
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-oem-6.8 0 6.8.0-1003.3
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-oracle 0 6.5.0-1010.10
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-raspi 0 6.5.0-1005.7
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-raspi-realtime 0 No fix
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-raspi-realtime 0 6.7.0-2001.1
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-realtime 0 6.8.0-1008.19
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-riscv 0 6.5.0-9.9.1
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
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS linux-azure-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS linux-azure-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS linux-azure-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS linux-azure-fde 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS linux-gke 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS linux-gke-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS linux-intel-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS linux-oem-5.10 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS linux-oem-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS linux-oem-5.14 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS linux-oem-5.6 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS linux-raspi2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS linux-riscv 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS linux-riscv-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS linux-riscv-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-preview:22.04:LTS linux-aws-fips 0 5.15.0-1051.56+fips1
Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-preview:22.04:LTS linux-azure-fips 0 5.15.0-1053.61+fips1
Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-preview:22.04:LTS linux-fips 0 5.15.0-73.80+fips1
Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-preview:22.04:LTS linux-gcp-fips 0 5.15.0-1048.56+fips1
Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:18.04:LTS linux-aws-fips 0 4.15.0-2000.4
Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:18.04:LTS linux-azure-fips 0 4.15.0-1002.2
Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:18.04:LTS linux-fips 0 4.15.0-1027.32
Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:18.04:LTS linux-gcp-fips 0 4.15.0-2013.14
Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:20.04:LTS linux-aws-fips 0 5.4.0-1021.21+fips2
Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:20.04:LTS linux-azure-fips 0 5.4.0-1022.22+fips1
Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:20.04:LTS linux-fips 0 5.4.0-1026.30
Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:20.04:LTS linux-gcp-fips 0 5.4.0-1021.21+fips1
Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:22.04:LTS linux-aws-fips 0 5.15.0-1052.57+fips1
Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:22.04:LTS linux-azure-fips 0 5.15.0-1058.66+fips1
Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:22.04:LTS linux-fips 0 5.15.0-92.102+fips1
Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:22.04:LTS linux-gcp-fips 0 5.15.0-1048.56+fips1
Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS:16.04:LTS linux-fips 0 4.4.0-1003.3
Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS:18.04:LTS linux-aws-fips 0 4.15.0-2000.4

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