---
cve: "CVE-2024-26960"
severity: "HIGH"
cvss: 7.0
epss: "18%"
vendor: "Linux"
kev: false
exploited: false
published: "2024-05-01 06:15:12"
tags: [cve, security, high]
source: tsecurity.de CVE-Dossier
exported: "2026-09-08T07:42:31+02:00"
---

# CVE-2024-26960

> 7.0 HIGH

## Beschreibung

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

mm: swap: fix race between free_swap_and_cache() and swapoff()

There was previously a theoretical window where swapoff() could run and
teardown a swap_info_struct while a call to free_swap_and_cache() was
running in another thread.  This could cause, amongst other bad
possibilities, swap_page_trans_huge_swapped() (called by
free_swap_and_cache()) to access the freed memory for swap_map.

This is a theoretical problem and I haven't been able to provoke it from a
test case.  But there has been agreement based on code review that this is
possible (see link below).

Fix it by using get_swap_device()/put_swap_device(), which will stall
swapoff().  There was an extra check in _swap_info_get() to confirm that
the swap entry was not free.  This isn't present in get_swap_device()
because it doesn't make sense in general due to the race between getting
the reference and swapoff.  So I've added an equivalent check directly in
free_swap_and_cache().

Details of how to provoke one possible issue (thanks to David Hildenbrand
for deriving this):

--8try_to_unuse() will stop as soon as soon as si->inuse_pages==0.

So the question is: could someone reclaim the folio and turn
si->inuse_pages==0, before we completed swap_page_trans_huge_swapped().

Imagine the following: 2 MiB folio in the swapcache. Only 2 subpages are
still references by swap entries.

Process 1 still references subpage 0 via swap entry.
Process 2 still references subpage 1 via swap entry.

Process 1 quits. Calls free_swap_and_cache().
-> count == SWAP_HAS_CACHE
[then, preempted in the hypervisor etc.]

Process 2 quits. Calls free_swap_and_cache().
-> count == SWAP_HAS_CACHE

Process 2 goes ahead, passes swap_page_trans_huge_swapped(), and calls
__try_to_reclaim_swap().

__try_to_reclaim_swap()->folio_free_swap()->delete_from_swap_cache()->
put_swap_folio()->free_swap_slot()->swapcache_free_entries()->
swap_entry_free()->swap_range_free()->
...
WRITE_ONCE(si->inuse_pages, si->inuse_pages - nr_entries);

What stops swapoff to succeed after process 2 reclaimed the swap cache
but before process1 finished its call to swap_page_trans_huge_swapped()?

--8

## CVSS-Vektor

```
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
```

| Metrik | Wert | Bewertung |
|---|---|---|
| AV Angriffsvektor | Lokal | good |
| AC Komplexität | Hoch | good |
| PR Privilegien | Gering | warn |
| UI Interaktion | Keine | bad |
| S Scope | Unverändert | good |
| C Vertraulichkeit | Hoch | bad |
| I Integrität | Hoch | bad |
| A Verfügbarkeit | Hoch | bad |

## Patch verfügbar (OSV)

- Kernel ≥ 5.10.215
- Kernel ≥ 5.15.154
- Kernel ≥ 6.1.84
- Kernel ≥ 6.6.24
- Kernel ≥ 6.7.12
- Kernel ≥ 6.8.3

## Referenzen

- <https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d85c11c97ecf92d47a4b29e3faca714dc1f18d0d>
- <https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2da5568ee222ce0541bfe446a07998f92ed1643e>
- <https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1ede7f1d7eed1738d1b9333fd1e152ccb450b86a>
- <https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0f98f6d2fb5fad00f8299b84b85b6bc1b6d7d19a>
- <https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3ce4c4c653e4e478ecb15d3c88e690f12cbf6b39>
- <https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/363d17e7f7907c8e27a9e86968af0eaa2301787b>
- <https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/82b1c07a0af603e3c47b906c8e991dc96f01688e>
- <https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/06/msg00017.html>
- <https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-265688.html>

---
_Exportiert aus dem [tsecurity.de CVE-Dossier](https://tsecurity.de/cve?cve=CVE-2024-26960) · Datenquellen: EUVD (ENISA), NVD, OSV, CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS, Exploit-DB, BSI BITS_
