CVE-2024-35814·Kernel vulnerability
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: swiotlb: Fix double-allocation of slots due to broken alignment handling Commit bbb73a103fbb ("swiotlb: fix a braino in the alignment check fix"), which was a fix for commit 0eee5ae10256 ("swiotlb: fix slot alignment checks"), causes a functional regression with vsock in a virtual machine using bouncing via a restricted DMA SWIOTLB pool. When virtio allocates the virtqueues for the vsock device using dma_alloc_coherent(), the SWIOTLB search can return page-unaligned allocations if 'area->index' was left unaligned by a previous allocation from the buffer: # Final address in brackets is the SWIOTLB address returned to the caller | virtio-pci 0000:00:07.0: orig_addr 0x0 alloc_size 0x2000, iotlb_align_mask 0x800 stride 0x2: got slot 1645-1649/7168 (0x98326800) | virtio-pci 0000:00:07.0: orig_addr 0x0 alloc_size 0x2000, iotlb_align_mask 0x800 stride 0x2: got slot 1649-1653/7168 (0x98328800) | virtio-pci 0000:00:07.0: orig_addr 0x0 alloc_size 0x2000, iotlb_align_mask 0x800 stride 0x2: got slot 1653-1657/7168 (0x9832a800) This ends badly (typically buffer corruption and/or a hang) because swiotlb_alloc() is expecting a page-aligned allocation and so blindly returns a pointer to the 'struct page' corresponding to the allocation, therefore double-allocating the first half (2KiB slot) of the 4KiB page. Fix the problem by treating the allocation alignment separately to any additional alignment requirements from the device, using the maximum of the two as the stride to search the buffer slots and taking care to ensure a minimum of page-alignment for buffers larger than a page. This also resolves swiotlb allocation failures occuring due to the inclusion of ~PAGE_MASK in 'iotlb_align_mask' for large allocations and resulting in alignment requirements exceeding swiotlb_max_mapping_size().
- Severity
- high
- Software
- Kernel
- Fixed in
- 6.8.3
- Published
- 2024-05-17
Affected versions
From: 6.8
Until: 6.8.3
Fixed in: 6.8.3
How to fix this CVE
Update your Linux kernel to version 6.8.3 or later to fix the SWIOTLB slot allocation misalignment issue that causes memory corruption in virtualized environments. This vulnerability affects kernel versions 6.8.0 through 6.8.2 and manifests primarily when using vsock devices or other DMA operations that require page-aligned allocations. Verify your kernel version and apply the update immediately, followed by a system reboot to activate the patched kernel.
sudo dnf update kernel kernel-develDefensia detects this vulnerability
How to check if you are affected
- Check your current kernel version with: uname -r — you are vulnerable if the output shows 6.8.0, 6.8.1, or 6.8.2
- Verify SWIOTLB is active on your system with: cat /proc/cmdline | grep -i swiotlb — if 'swiotlb=' appears, the component is exposed
- Check system logs for SWIOTLB allocation failures with: sudo journalctl -u kernel -b | grep -i 'swiotlb\|virtio\|buffer corruption'
- Confirm the fix by rebooting to the patched kernel and running uname -r to verify version 6.8.3 or later is loaded
FAQ
What is CVE-2024-35814?
CVE-2024-35814 is a high-severity kernel vulnerability in SWIOTLB (Software I/O Translation Lookaside Buffer) that causes incorrect slot alignment calculations, leading to double-allocation of memory slots and resulting in buffer corruption or system hangs in virtualized environments, particularly affecting virtio-based devices like vsock.
Is CVE-2024-35814 being actively exploited?
No, CVE-2024-35814 is not listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog and no public exploits are currently available. However, the vulnerability can be triggered unintentionally through normal virtio device operations in virtual machines.
What versions of Kernel are affected by CVE-2024-35814?
Linux kernel versions 6.8.0, 6.8.1, and 6.8.2 are affected. The vulnerability was fixed in kernel version 6.8.3 and all subsequent releases.
How do I check if my server is vulnerable to CVE-2024-35814?
Run 'uname -r' and check if the output shows a version between 6.8.0 and 6.8.2 inclusive. If you are running kernel 6.8.3 or later, or a different major version entirely, you are not vulnerable to this specific issue.
Does Defensia detect CVE-2024-35814?
Yes — Defensia's CVE advisory scanner compares installed package versions against the NVD database. If Linux kernel is installed on a monitored server, CVE-2024-35814 will appear in your dashboard with remediation steps.
Related Kernel CVEs
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/04867a7a33324c9c562ee7949dbcaab7aaad1fb4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3e7acd6e25ba77dde48c3b721c54c89cd6a10534
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/777391743771040e12cc40d3d0d178f70c616491
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c88668aa6c1da240ea3eb4d128b7906e740d3cb8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/04867a7a33324c9c562ee7949dbcaab7aaad1fb4
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