CVE-2024-38597 eth: sungem: remove .ndo_poll_controller to avoid deadlocks
A deadlock in the sungem network driver can cause a denial of service when netpoll is used, requiring a kernel patch.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2024-38597?
CVE-2024-38597 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Jun 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
eth: sungem: remove .ndo_poll_controller to avoid deadlocks
Erhard reports netpoll warnings from sungem:
netpoll_send_skb_on_dev(): eth0 enabled interrupts in poll (gem_start_xmit+0x0/0x398) WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 1 at net/core/netpoll.c:370 netpoll_send_skb+0x1fc/0x20c
gem_poll_controller() disables interrupts, which may sleep. We can't sleep in netpoll, it has interrupts disabled completely. Strangely, gem_poll_controller() doesn't even poll the completions, and instead acts as if an interrupt has fired so it just schedules NAPI and exits. None of this has been necessary for years, since netpoll invokes NAPI directly.
Weakness: CWE-667
Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-38597?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2024-38597?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is CVE-2024-38597 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-38597 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2024-38597, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-38597, GHSA-hmgj-4596-mmpr, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-38597.