Cloudanix VulnDB

CVE-2024-57885

None

CVSS

—

EPSS

0.2%

Published

Jan 15, 2025

CISA due date

—

Cloudanix analysis

Schedule a fix SSVC: Track

A bug in the Linux kernel's memory debugging tool can cause errors on certain real-time systems that also use SELinux when someone tries to view its debug information.

Exploitation
Other
Attacker needs
None
Complexity
Theoretical
Impact
Other
Component
OS kernel
Class
Other
Remediation
Patch
Effort
Low
Patch risk
None

What it actually does

The flaw triggers a sleeping function call from atomic context in kmemleak_seq_show when using %pK formatting under CONFIG_PREEMPT_RT with SELinux and kptr_restrict=1, because the capability check via LSM occurs while holding locks with preemption disabled.

Why it matters to the business

Systems running real-time Linux kernels with SELinux may experience kernel warnings or instability when administrators access the kmemleak debug interface, increasing operational risk on affected embedded or low-latency deployments.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker with local access reads /sys/kernel/debug/kmemleak while the kernel is configured with PREEMPT_RT, SELinux, and kptr_restrict=1 and the kmemleak buffer is populated; this causes the capability check inside pointer formatting to attempt sleeping locks from atomic context, surfacing the warning.

How to fix it

Upgrade the Linux kernel to a version containing commit 86d946f3f9992aaa12abcfd09f925446c2cd42a2 or later; the change removes the redundant %pK privilege check that invoked the LSM in atomic context.

How to confirm the fix worked

Confirm the patch is applied by checking for the commit in the kernel source or by reproducing the original conditions and verifying the sleeping-function warning no longer occurs on kmemleak read.

Typical attack path

  1. Obtain local shell on target system
  2. Ensure kernel built with CONFIG_PREEMPT_RT and SELinux
  3. Set kptr_restrict=1
  4. Trigger kmemleak buffer population
  5. Read /sys/kernel/debug/kmemleak via cat or similar

How to detect it

Search kernel logs for the exact BUG string 'sleeping function called from invalid context at kernel/locking/spinlock_rt.c' combined with kmemleak_seq_show and avc_perm_nonode call traces; inspect audit logs for reads of /sys/kernel/debug/kmemleak under the affected conditions.

  • BUG: sleeping function called from invalid context at kernel/locking/spinlock_rt.c:48
  • kmemleak_seq_show+0xd0/0x1e0
  • avc_perm_nonode+0xa0/0x150
  • /sys/kernel/debug/kmemleak

What your security team should do

  • Prioritize kernel upgrade on all PREEMPT_RT systems using SELinux
  • Temporarily avoid reading kmemleak debugfs on unpatched RT kernels with kptr_restrict enabled
  • Monitor kernel logs for the specific sleeping-function warning signature

The record

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/kmemleak: fix sleeping function called from invalid context at print message Address a bug in the kernel that triggers a "sleeping function called from invalid context" warning when /sys/kernel/debug/kmemleak is printed under specific conditions: - CONFIG_PREEMPT_RT=y - Set SELinux as the LSM for the system - Set kptr_restrict to 1 - kmemleak buffer contains at least one item BUG: sleeping function called from invalid context at kernel/locking/spinlock_rt.c:48 in_atomic(): 1, irqs_disabled(): 1, non_block: 0, pid: 136, name: cat preempt_count: 1, expected: 0 RCU nest depth: 2, expected: 2 6 locks held by cat/136: #0: ffff32e64bcbf950 (&p->lock){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: seq_read_iter+0xb8/0xe30 #1: ffffafe6aaa9dea0 (scan_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: kmemleak_seq_start+0x34/0x128 #3: ffff32e6546b1cd0 (&object->lock){....}-{2:2}, at: kmemleak_seq_show+0x3c/0x1e0 #4: ffffafe6aa8d8560 (rcu_read_lock){....}-{1:2}, at: has_ns_capability_noaudit+0x8/0x1b0 #5: ffffafe6aabbc0f8 (notif_lock){+.+.}-{2:2}, at: avc_compute_av+0xc4/0x3d0 irq event stamp: 136660 hardirqs last enabled at (136659): [<ffffafe6a80fd7a0>] _raw_spin_unlock_irqrestore+0xa8/0xd8 hardirqs last disabled at (136660): [<ffffafe6a80fd85c>] _raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x8c/0xb0 softirqs last enabled at (0): [<ffffafe6a5d50b28>] copy_process+0x11d8/0x3df8 softirqs last disabled at (0): [<0000000000000000>] 0x0 Preemption disabled at: [<ffffafe6a6598a4c>] kmemleak_seq_show+0x3c/0x1e0 CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 136 Comm: cat Tainted: G E 6.11.0-rt7+ #34 Tainted: [E]=UNSIGNED_MODULE Hardware name: linux,dummy-virt (DT) Call trace: dump_backtrace+0xa0/0x128 show_stack+0x1c/0x30 dump_stack_lvl+0xe8/0x198 dump_stack+0x18/0x20 rt_spin_lock+0x8c/0x1a8 avc_perm_nonode+0xa0/0x150 cred_has_capability.isra.0+0x118/0x218 selinux_capable+0x50/0x80 security_capable+0x7c/0xd0 has_ns_capability_noaudit+0x94/0x1b0 has_capability_noaudit+0x20/0x30 restricted_pointer+0x21c/0x4b0 pointer+0x298/0x760 vsnprintf+0x330/0xf70 seq_printf+0x178/0x218 print_unreferenced+0x1a4/0x2d0 kmemleak_seq_show+0xd0/0x1e0 seq_read_iter+0x354/0xe30 seq_read+0x250/0x378 full_proxy_read+0xd8/0x148 vfs_read+0x190/0x918 ksys_read+0xf0/0x1e0 __arm64_sys_read+0x70/0xa8 invoke_syscall.constprop.0+0xd4/0x1d8 el0_svc+0x50/0x158 el0t_64_sync+0x17c/0x180 %pS and %pK, in the same back trace line, are redundant, and %pS can void %pK service in certain contexts. %pS alone already provides the necessary information, and if it cannot resolve the symbol, it falls back to printing the raw address voiding the original intent behind the %pK. Additionally, %pK requires a privilege check CAP_SYSLOG enforced through the LSM, which can trigger a "sleeping function called from invalid context" warning under RT_PREEMPT kernels when the check occurs in an atomic context. This issue may also affect other LSMs. This change avoids the unnecessary privilege check and resolves the sleeping function warning without any loss of information.

Affected packages

Ecosystem Package Introduced Fixed
Debian:13 linux 0 6.12.9-1
Linux Kernel 6.2.0 6.6.70
Mageia:9 dwarves 0 1.29-1.mga9
Mageia:9 kernel 0 6.6.74-1.mga9
Mageia:9 kernel-linus 0 6.6.74-1.mga9
Mageia:9 kmod-virtualbox 0 7.0.24-64.mga9
Mageia:9 kmod-xtables-addons 0 3.24-70.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 No fix
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 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 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 No fix
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 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 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-aws-6.8 0 6.8.0-1029.31~22.04.1
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 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-6.8 0 6.8.0-1029.34~22.04.1
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 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 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gcp-6.8 0 6.8.0-1030.32~22.04.1
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 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-hwe-6.8 0 6.8.0-60.63~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-ibm 0 5.15.0-1002.2
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-ibm-6.8 0 6.8.0-1026.26~22.04.1
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 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8 0 6.8.0-60.63.1~22.04.1
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 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-6.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-6.8 0 6.8.0-1028.31~22.04.1
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 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oracle-6.8 0 6.8.0-1026.27~22.04.1
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 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-riscv-6.8 0 6.8.0-62.65~22.04.1
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 No fix
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux 0 6.8.0-60.63
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-aws 0 No fix
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-aws 0 6.8.0-1029.31
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-azure 0 No fix
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-azure 0 6.8.0-1029.34
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-azure-6.11 0 6.11.0-1012.12~24.04.1
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-azure-nvidia 0 6.8.0-1016.17
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 No fix
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 6.8.0-1030.32
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-gcp-6.11 0 6.11.0-1011.11~24.04.1
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-gke 0 No fix
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-gke 0 6.8.0-1025.29
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-gkeop 0 No fix
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-gkeop 0 6.8.0-1012.14
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-hwe-6.11 0 6.11.0-21.21~24.04.1
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-ibm 0 No fix
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-ibm 0 6.8.0-1026.26
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-intel 0 No fix
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-lowlatency 0 No fix
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-lowlatency 0 6.8.0-60.63.1
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-nvidia 0 No fix
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-nvidia 0 6.8.0-1028.31
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-nvidia-6.11 0 6.11.0-1007.7
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-nvidia-lowlatency 0 No fix
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-nvidia-lowlatency 0 6.8.0-1028.31.1
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-nvidia-tegra 0 No fix
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-nvidia-tegra 0 6.8.0-1008.8
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-oem-6.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-oem-6.11 0 6.11.0-1017.17
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-oem-6.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-oem-6.8 0 6.8.0-1028.28
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-oracle 0 No fix
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-oracle 0 6.8.0-1026.27
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-raspi 0 No fix

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