CVE-2024-38661 s390/ap: Fix crash in AP internal function modify_bitmap()

Medium 5.5 Published 25 Jun 2024 Updated 11 May 2026

An integer overflow in the s390 AP driver causes a kernel crash, leading to denial of service on affected Linux systems.

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-2024-38661?

CVE-2024-38661 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 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:

s390/ap: Fix crash in AP internal function modify_bitmap()

A system crash like this

Failing address: 200000cb7df6f000 TEID: 200000cb7df6f403 Fault in home space mode while using kernel ASCE. AS:00000002d71bc007 R3:00000003fe5b8007 S:000000011a446000 P:000000015660c13d Oops: 0038 ilc:3 [#1] PREEMPT SMP Modules linked in: mlx5_ib ... CPU: 8 PID: 7556 Comm: bash Not tainted 6.9.0-rc7 #8 Hardware name: IBM 3931 A01 704 (LPAR) Krnl PSW : 0704e00180000000 0000014b75e7b606 (ap_parse_bitmap_str+0x10e/0x1f8) R:0 T:1 IO:1 EX:1 Key:0 M:1 W:0 P:0 AS:3 CC:2 PM:0 RI:0 EA:3 Krnl GPRS: 0000000000000001 ffffffffffffffc0 0000000000000001 00000048f96b75d3 000000cb00000100 ffffffffffffffff ffffffffffffffff 000000cb7df6fce0 000000cb7df6fce0 00000000ffffffff 000000000000002b 00000048ffffffff 000003ff9b2dbc80 200000cb7df6fcd8 0000014bffffffc0 000000cb7df6fbc8 Krnl Code: 0000014b75e7b5fc: a7840047 brc 8,0000014b75e7b68a 0000014b75e7b600: 18b2 lr %r11,%r2 #0000014b75e7b602: a7f4000a brc 15,0000014b75e7b616 >0000014b75e7b606: eb22d00000e6 laog %r2,%r2,0(%r13) 0000014b75e7b60c: a7680001 lhi %r6,1 0000014b75e7b610: 187b lr %r7,%r11 0000014b75e7b612: 84960021 brxh %r9,%r6,0000014b75e7b654 0000014b75e7b616: 18e9 lr %r14,%r9 Call Trace: [<0000014b75e7b606>] ap_parse_bitmap_str+0x10e/0x1f8 ([<0000014b75e7b5dc>] ap_parse_bitmap_str+0xe4/0x1f8) [<0000014b75e7b758>] apmask_store+0x68/0x140 [<0000014b75679196>] kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x14e/0x1e8 [<0000014b75598524>] vfs_write+0x1b4/0x448 [<0000014b7559894c>] ksys_write+0x74/0x100 [<0000014b7618a440>] __do_syscall+0x268/0x328 [<0000014b761a3558>] system_call+0x70/0x98 INFO: lockdep is turned off. Last Breaking-Event-Address: [<0000014b75e7b636>] ap_parse_bitmap_str+0x13e/0x1f8 Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception: panic_on_oops

occured when /sys/bus/ap/a[pq]mask was updated with a relative mask value (like +0x10-0x12,+60,-90) with one of the numeric values exceeding INT_MAX.

The fix is simple: use unsigned long values for the internal variables. The correct checks are already in place in the function but a simple int for the internal variables was used with the possibility to overflow.

Weakness: CWE-190

Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-38661?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2024-38661?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Is CVE-2024-38661 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-38661 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as BELL-CVE-2024-38661, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-38661, GHSA-w2r4-hcq9-mf2m, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-38661.