CVE-2024-40953: KVM: Fix a data race on last_boosted_vcpu in kvm_vcpu_on_spin()

Severity: medium (CVSS 4.7 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2024-07-12 · updated 2026-08-04
Weakness: CWE-362

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: Fix a data race on last_boosted_vcpu in kvm_vcpu_on_spin() Use {READ,WRITE}_ONCE() to access kvm->last_boosted_vcpu to ensure the loads and stores are atomic. In the extremely unlikely scenario the compiler tears the stores, it's theoretically possible for KVM to attempt to get a vCPU using an out-of-bounds index, e.g. if the write is split into multiple 8-bit stores, and is paired with a 32-bit load on a VM with 257 vCPUs: CPU0 CPU1 last_boosted_vcpu = 0xff; (last_boosted_vcpu = 0x100) last_boosted_vcpu[15:8] = 0x01; i = (last_boosted_vcpu = 0x1ff) last_boosted_vcpu[7:0] = 0x00; vcpu = kvm->vcpu_array[0x1ff]; As detected by KCSAN: BUG: KCSAN: data-race in kvm_vcpu_on_spin [kvm] / kvm_vcpu_on_spin [kvm] write to 0xffffc90025a92344 of 4 bytes by task 4340 on cpu 16: kvm_vcpu_on_spin (arch/x86/kvm/../../../virt/kvm/kvm_main.c:4112) kvm handle_pause (arch/x86/kvm/vmx/vmx.c:5929) kvm_intel vmx_handle_exit (arch/x86/kvm/vmx/vmx.c:? arch/x86/kvm/vmx/vmx.c:6606) kvm_intel vcpu_run (arch/x86/kvm/x86.c:11107 arch/x86/kvm/x86.c:11211) kvm kvm_arch_vcpu_ioctl_run (arch/x86/kvm/x86.c:?) kvm kvm_vcpu_ioctl (arch/x86/kvm/../../../virt/kvm/kvm_main.c:?) kvm __se_sys_ioctl (fs/ioctl.c:52 fs/ioctl.c:904 fs/ioctl.c:890) __x64_sys_ioctl (fs/ioctl.c:890) x64_sys_call (arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:33) do_syscall_64 (arch/x86/entry/common.c:?) entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe (arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:130) read to 0xffffc90025a92344 of 4 bytes by task 4342 on cpu 4: kvm_vcpu_on_spin (arch/x86/kvm/../../../virt/kvm/kvm_main.c:4069) kvm handle_pause (arch/x86/kvm/vmx/vmx.c:5929) kvm_intel vmx_handle_exit (arch/x86/kvm/vmx/vmx.c:? arch/x86/kvm/vmx/vmx.c:6606) kvm_intel vcpu_run (arch/x86/kvm/x86.c:11107 arch/x86/kvm/x86.c:11211) kvm kvm_arch_vcpu_ioctl_run (arch/x86/kvm/x86.c:?) kvm kvm_vcpu_ioctl (arch/x86/kvm/../../../virt/kvm/kvm_main.c:?) kvm __se_sys_ioctl (fs/ioctl.c:52 fs/ioctl.c:904 fs/ioctl.c:890) __x64_sys_ioctl (fs/ioctl.c:890) x64_sys_call (arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:33) do_syscall_64 (arch/x86/entry/common.c:?) entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe (arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:130) value changed: 0x00000012 -> 0x00000000

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 2.6.39 before 4.19.323; from 4.20 before 5.4.285; from 5.5 before 5.10.228; from 5.11 before 5.15.169; from 5.16 before 6.1.96; from 6.2 before 6.6.36 — fixed in 4.19.323, 5.10.228, 5.15.169, 5.4.285, 6.1.96, 6.6.36

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 4.19.323, 5.10.228, 5.15.169, 5.4.285. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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