MEDIUM · 5.5

CVE-2024-35981

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: virtio_net: Do not send RSS key if it is not supported There is a bug when setting the RSS options in virtio_net that can break th...

Vulnerability Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: virtio_net: Do not send RSS key if it is not supported There is a bug when setting the RSS options in virtio_net that can break the whole machine, getting the kernel into an infinite loop. Running the following command in any QEMU virtual machine with virtionet will reproduce this problem: # ethtool -X eth0 hfunc toeplitz This is how the problem happens: 1) ethtool_set_rxfh() calls virtnet_set_rxfh() 2) virtnet_set_rxfh() calls virtnet_commit_rss_command() 3) virtnet_commit_rss_command() populates 4 entries for the rss scatter-gather 4) Since the command above does not have a key, then the last scatter-gatter entry will be zeroed, since rss_key_size == 0. sg_buf_size = vi->rss_key_size; 5) This buffer is passed to qemu, but qemu is not happy with a buffer with zero length, and do the following in virtqueue_map_desc() (QEMU function): if (!sz) { virtio_error(vdev, "virtio: zero sized buffers are not allowed"); 6) virtio_error() (also QEMU function) set the device as broken vdev->broken = true; 7) Qemu bails out, and do not repond this crazy kernel. 8) The kernel is waiting for the response to come back (function virtnet_send_command()) 9) The kernel is waiting doing the following : while (!virtqueue_get_buf(vi->cvq, &tmp) && !virtqueue_is_broken(vi->cvq)) cpu_relax(); 10) None of the following functions above is true, thus, the kernel loops here forever. Keeping in mind that virtqueue_is_broken() does not look at the qemu `vdev->broken`, so, it never realizes that the vitio is broken at QEMU side. Fix it by not sending RSS commands if the feature is not available in the device.

CVSS Score

5.5

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Attack Vector
LOCAL
Attack Complexity
LOW
Privileges Required
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
NONE
Availability
HIGH

Affected Products

VendorProductVersions
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 5.18, < 6.1.90

Related Weaknesses (CWE)

References

FAQ

What is CVE-2024-35981?

CVE-2024-35981 is a vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 (MEDIUM). In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: virtio_net: Do not send RSS key if it is not supported There is a bug when setting the RSS options in virtio_net that can break th...

How severe is CVE-2024-35981?

CVE-2024-35981 has been rated MEDIUM with a CVSS base score of 5.5/10. Review the CVSS metrics above for detailed severity breakdown.

Is there a patch for CVE-2024-35981?

Check the references section above for vendor advisories and patch information. Affected products include: Linux Linux Kernel.