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Lorenzo Stoakes (ARM) d5d8b8662e x86/mm/pat: Acquire init_mm read lock on attribute changes to avoid UAF
A previous commit protected against races between ptdump and CPA collapse,
however one still exists between attribute changes and collapse as reported
by Denis V. Lunev (linked).

When an attribute change arises, a lockless page table walker obtains a PTE
entry, which is later written to via set_pte_atomic():

  ...
  -> change_page_attr_set_clr()
  -> __change_page_attr_set_clr()
  -> __change_page_attr()
	-> _lookup_address_cpa()
	-> lookup_address_in_pgd_attr()
	-> [ lockless page table walker ]
  -> set_pte_atomic()

There is nothing preventing a concurrent CPA collapse which can free the
PTE that was retrieved here, resulting in a use-after-free.

With the mmap write lock taken on init_mm over CPA collapse, resolve this
race by acquiring an mmap read lock on init_mm over
__change_page_attr_set_clr().

This locks across the whole operation over which the walk and the PTE
entry write occurs, solving the race.

It is safe to do this here, as no spinlocks are held upon entry to
__change_page_attr_set_clr().

However, the lock must not be held over an allocation, as allocation can
trigger reclaim and shrinkers may call into CPA recursively, making
deadlocks possible (init_mm -> ... -> fs_reclaim -> init_mm).

A page table is allocated when a huge page needs to be split:

  -> change_page_attr_set_clr()
  -> __change_page_attr_set_clr()
  -> __change_page_attr()
  -> split_large_page()
  [ pagetable_alloc() ]
  -> __split_large_page()

Avoid deadlocks by dropping the mmap lock across pagetable_alloc() in
split_large_page() and track whether this is needed by adding a new
'init_mm_read_locked' flag to struct cpa_data.

This is safe as __split_large_page() (called with locks re-established)
revalidates that the page table entry is the same as it was prior to the
locks being dropped and __change_page_attr() repeats the entire page table
walk whenever a split occurs, so concurrent split and collapse are
accounted for.

Concurrent ptdump is also safe as the lock is only dropped over page table
allocation during which time the page table has not yet been modified.

The CPA_COLLAPSE flag is only set by set_memory_rox(), which exclusively
operates upon vmalloc ranges, and on x86 only within the module mapping
space.

This is important, because some callers directly invoke
__change_page_attr_set_clr(), bypassing this lock. However, none of these
operate within the module mapping space.

  * cpa_process_alias() - a recursive helper called by
    __change_page_attr_set_clr().
  * __set_memory_enc_pgtable() - operates on the direct mapping and (via
    __vmbus_establish_gpadl()) the vmalloc mapping space.
  * __set_pages_[n]p() - called by set_direct_map_[invalid, default,
    valid]_noflush(), __kernel_map_pages() - operates on the direct map.
  * kernel_[un]map_pages_in_pgd() - operates on EFI ranges.

This work is based upon Denis V. Lunev's excellent analysis of the bug
with gratitude.

[ dhansen: move to imperative voice in changelog ]

Fixes: 41d88484c7 ("x86/mm/pat: restore large ROX pages after fragmentation")
Signed-off-by: Lorenzo Stoakes (ARM) <ljs@kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Mike Rapoport (Microsoft) <rppt@kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Dave Hansen <dave.hansen@linux.intel.com>
Signed-off-by: Ingo Molnar <mingo@kernel.org>
Tested-by: Atish Patra <atishp@meta.com>
Tested-by: Nikunj A Dadhania <nikunj@amd.com>
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260626163213.2284080-1-den@openvz.org/
Cc:stable@vger.kernel.org
Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260813-cpa-fixes-v2-2-39b4ff90f91d@kernel.org
2026-09-09 08:39:04 +02:00
arch x86/mm/pat: Acquire init_mm read lock on attribute changes to avoid UAF 2026-09-09 08:39:04 +02:00
block for-7.3/block-20260819 2026-08-20 13:55:16 -07:00
certs treewide: fix indentation and whitespace in Kconfig files 2026-05-28 21:24:42 -07:00
crypto This push fixes a memory allocation overrun in crypto acomp. 2026-08-28 09:28:40 -07:00
Documentation Coccinelle patches for Linux v7.3 2026-08-30 10:42:40 -07:00
drivers i2c-fixes for v7.3-rc1 2026-08-30 10:53:24 -07:00
fs tracing fixes for v7.3: 2026-08-30 09:22:00 -07:00
include x86/mm/pat: Acquire init_mm write lock on collapse to avoid UAF 2026-09-09 08:38:56 +02:00
init Bootconfig updates for v7.3: 2026-08-25 08:59:09 -07:00
io_uring io_uring-7.3-20260828 2026-08-28 16:51:14 -07:00
ipc mm.git review status for master..mm-nonmm-stable 2026-08-23 08:07:11 -07:00
kernel - Revert a commit to spinlock cleanup guards that got caught up 2026-08-30 09:57:35 -07:00
lib mm.git review status for linus..mm-stable 2026-08-27 09:17:06 -07:00
LICENSES LICENSES: Add modern form of the LGPL-2.1 tags to the usage guide section 2025-10-22 07:58:19 +02:00
mm mm.git review status for linus..mm-stable 2026-08-27 09:17:06 -07:00
net A wide variety of mostly CephFS fixes and cleanups, split between 2026-08-28 11:51:05 -07:00
rust Rust fixes for v7.3 2026-08-30 09:47:39 -07:00
samples tracing fixes for v7.3: 2026-08-30 09:22:00 -07:00
scripts Coccinelle patches for Linux v7.3 2026-08-30 10:42:40 -07:00
security Hi, 2026-08-28 09:36:27 -07:00
sound sound fixes for 7.3-rc1 2026-08-28 10:01:02 -07:00
tools Rust fixes for v7.3 2026-08-30 09:47:39 -07:00
usr usr: Correct a spelling by changing a letter 2026-08-05 14:51:58 +02:00
virt Arm: 2026-08-25 11:48:04 -07:00
.clang-format drm/bridge: rename drm_for_each_bridge_in_chain_scoped() to drm_for_each_bridge_in_chain() 2026-07-14 17:55:51 +02:00
.clippy.toml rust: bump Clippy's MSRV and clean incompatible_msrv allows 2026-04-07 09:51:39 +02:00
.cocciconfig
.editorconfig editorconfig: add rst extension 2026-01-26 19:07:09 -08:00
.get_maintainer.ignore .get_maintainer.ignore: add Nathan Chancellor 2026-08-03 21:10:12 -07:00
.gitattributes .gitattributes: set diff driver for Rust source code files 2023-05-31 17:48:25 +02:00
.gitignore SPDX patches for 7.2-rc1 2026-06-22 12:06:22 -07:00
.mailmap CREDITS/mailmap: add some info about Darrick J. Wong 2026-08-30 10:29:08 -07:00
.pylintrc docs: Move the python libraries to tools/lib/python 2025-11-18 09:22:40 -07:00
.rustfmt.toml rust: add .rustfmt.toml 2022-09-28 09:02:20 +02:00
COPYING COPYING: state that all contributions really are covered by this file 2020-02-10 13:32:20 -08:00
CREDITS CREDITS/mailmap: add some info about Darrick J. Wong 2026-08-30 10:29:08 -07:00
Kbuild checksyscalls: move instance functionality into generic code 2026-04-05 09:21:32 +02:00
Kconfig io_uring: Rename KConfig to Kconfig 2025-02-19 14:53:27 -07:00
MAINTAINERS SCSI updates for 7.3 2026-08-29 11:55:36 -07:00
Makefile Linux 7.3-rc1 2026-08-30 13:34:40 -07:00
README README: remove out of place emdashes 2026-07-15 10:51:29 -06:00

Linux kernel
============

The Linux kernel is the core of any Linux operating system. It manages hardware,
system resources, and provides the fundamental services for all other software.

Quick Start
-----------

* Report a bug: See Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst
* Get the latest kernel: https://kernel.org
* Build the kernel: See Documentation/admin-guide/quickly-build-trimmed-linux.rst
* Join the community: https://lore.kernel.org/

Essential Documentation
-----------------------

All users should be familiar with:

* Building requirements: Documentation/process/changes.rst
* Code of Conduct: Documentation/process/code-of-conduct.rst
* License: See COPYING

Documentation can be built with make htmldocs or viewed online at:
https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/


Who Are You?
============

Find your role below:

* New Kernel Developer: Getting started with kernel development
* Academic Researcher: Studying kernel internals and architecture
* Security Expert: Hardening and vulnerability analysis
* Backport/Maintenance Engineer: Maintaining stable kernels
* System Administrator: Configuring and troubleshooting
* Maintainer: Leading subsystems and reviewing patches
* Hardware Vendor: Writing drivers for new hardware
* Distribution Maintainer: Packaging kernels for distros
* AI Coding Assistant: LLMs and AI-powered development tools


For Specific Users
==================

New Kernel Developer
--------------------

Welcome! Start your kernel development journey here:

* Getting Started: Documentation/process/development-process.rst
* Your First Patch: Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
* Coding Style: Documentation/process/coding-style.rst
* Build System: Documentation/kbuild/index.rst
* Development Tools: Documentation/dev-tools/index.rst
* Kernel Hacking Guide: Documentation/kernel-hacking/hacking.rst
* Core APIs: Documentation/core-api/index.rst

Academic Researcher
-------------------

Explore the kernel's architecture and internals:

* Researcher Guidelines: Documentation/process/researcher-guidelines.rst
* Memory Management: Documentation/mm/index.rst
* Scheduler: Documentation/scheduler/index.rst
* Networking Stack: Documentation/networking/index.rst
* Filesystems: Documentation/filesystems/index.rst
* RCU (Read-Copy Update): Documentation/RCU/index.rst
* Locking Primitives: Documentation/locking/index.rst
* Power Management: Documentation/power/index.rst

Security Expert
---------------

Security documentation and hardening guides:

* Security Documentation: Documentation/security/index.rst
* LSM Development: Documentation/security/lsm-development.rst
* Self Protection: Documentation/security/self-protection.rst
* Reporting Vulnerabilities: Documentation/process/security-bugs.rst
* CVE Procedures: Documentation/process/cve.rst
* Embargoed Hardware Issues: Documentation/process/embargoed-hardware-issues.rst
* Security Features: Documentation/userspace-api/seccomp_filter.rst

Backport/Maintenance Engineer
-----------------------------

Maintain and stabilize kernel versions:

* Stable Kernel Rules: Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst
* Backporting Guide: Documentation/process/backporting.rst
* Applying Patches: Documentation/process/applying-patches.rst
* Subsystem Profile: Documentation/maintainer/maintainer-entry-profile.rst
* Git for Maintainers: Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst

System Administrator
--------------------

Configure, tune, and troubleshoot Linux systems:

* Admin Guide: Documentation/admin-guide/index.rst
* Kernel Parameters: Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst
* Sysctl Tuning: Documentation/admin-guide/sysctl/index.rst
* Tracing/Debugging: Documentation/trace/index.rst
* Performance Security: Documentation/admin-guide/perf-security.rst
* Hardware Monitoring: Documentation/hwmon/index.rst

Maintainer
----------

Lead kernel subsystems and manage contributions:

* Maintainer Handbook: Documentation/maintainer/index.rst
* Pull Requests: Documentation/maintainer/pull-requests.rst
* Managing Patches: Documentation/maintainer/modifying-patches.rst
* Rebasing and Merging: Documentation/maintainer/rebasing-and-merging.rst
* Development Process: Documentation/process/maintainer-handbooks.rst
* Maintainer Entry Profile: Documentation/maintainer/maintainer-entry-profile.rst
* Git Configuration: Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst

Hardware Vendor
---------------

Write drivers and support new hardware:

* Driver API Guide: Documentation/driver-api/index.rst
* Driver Model: Documentation/driver-api/driver-model/driver.rst
* Device Drivers: Documentation/driver-api/infrastructure.rst
* Bus Types: Documentation/driver-api/driver-model/bus.rst
* Device Tree Bindings: Documentation/devicetree/bindings/
* Power Management: Documentation/driver-api/pm/index.rst
* DMA API: Documentation/core-api/dma-api.rst

Distribution Maintainer
-----------------------

Package and distribute the kernel:

* Stable Kernel Rules: Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst
* ABI Documentation: Documentation/ABI/README
* Kernel Configuration: Documentation/kbuild/kconfig.rst
* Module Signing: Documentation/admin-guide/module-signing.rst
* Kernel Parameters: Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst
* Tainted Kernels: Documentation/admin-guide/tainted-kernels.rst

AI Coding Assistant
-------------------

CRITICAL: If you are an LLM or AI-powered coding assistant, you MUST read and
follow the AI coding assistants documentation before contributing to the Linux
kernel:

* Documentation/process/coding-assistants.rst

This documentation contains essential requirements about licensing, attribution,
and the Developer Certificate of Origin that all AI tools must comply with.


Communication and Support
=========================

* Mailing Lists: https://lore.kernel.org/
* IRC: #kernelnewbies on irc.oftc.net
* Bugzilla: https://bugzilla.kernel.org/
* MAINTAINERS file: Lists subsystem maintainers and mailing lists
* Email Clients: Documentation/process/email-clients.rst