CVE-2024-35801: x86/fpu: Keep xfd_state in sync with MSR_IA32_XFD

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2024-35801 is a high (CVSS 7.8) Use After Free vulnerability in linux. EPSS estimates a 0.24% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 14.5% of scored vulnerabilities.

Timeline

1. 17-05-2024
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 11-05-2026
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: x86/fpu: Keep xfd_state in sync with MSR_IA32_XFD Commit 672365477ae8 ("x86/fpu: Update XFD state where required") and commit 8bf26758ca96 ("x86/fpu: Add XFD state to fpstate") introduced a per CPU variable xfd_state to keep the MSR_IA32_XFD value cached, in order to avoid unnecessary writes to the MSR. On CPU hotplug MSR_IA32_XFD is reset to the init_fpstate.xfd, which wipes out any stale state. But the per CPU cached xfd value is not reset, which brings them out of sync. As a consequence a subsequent xfd_update_state() might fail to update the MSR which in turn can result in XRSTOR raising a #NM in kernel space, which crashes the kernel. To fix this, introduce xfd_set_state() to write xfd_state together with MSR_IA32_XFD, and use it in all places that set MSR_IA32_XFD.

• CWE-416Use After FreeThe product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.