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
MEDIUM
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux Kernel | >= 5.18, < 6.1.90 |
Related Weaknesses (CWE)
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/059a49aa2e25c58f90b50151f109dd3c4cdb3a47Patch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/28e9a64638cd16bc1ecac9ff74ffeacb9fb652dePatch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/43a71c1b4b3a6d4db857b1435d271540279fc7dePatch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/539a2b995a4ed93125cb0efae0f793b00ab2158bPatch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/059a49aa2e25c58f90b50151f109dd3c4cdb3a47Patch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/28e9a64638cd16bc1ecac9ff74ffeacb9fb652dePatch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/43a71c1b4b3a6d4db857b1435d271540279fc7dePatch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/539a2b995a4ed93125cb0efae0f793b00ab2158bPatch
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.