Overview
About vulnerability
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
KVM: Always flush async #PF workqueue when vCPU is being destroyed
Always flush the per-vCPU async #PF workqueue when a vCPU is clearing its completion queue, e.g. when a VM and all its vCPUs is being destroyed. KVM must ensure that none of its workqueue callbacks is running when the last reference to the KVM module is put. Gifting a reference to the associated VM prevents the workqueue callback from dereferencing freed vCPU/VM memory, but does not prevent the KVM module from being unloaded before the callback completes.
Drop the misguided VM refcount gifting, as calling kvm_put_kvm() from async_pf_execute() if kvm_put_kvm() flushes the async #PF workqueue will result in deadlock. async_pf_execute() can’t return until kvm_put_kvm() finishes, and kvm_put_kvm() can’t return until async_pf_execute() finishes:
WARNING: CPU: 8 PID: 251 at virt/kvm/kvm_main.c:1435 kvm_put_kvm+0x2d/0x320 [kvm]
Modules linked in: vhost_net vhost vhost_iotlb tap kvm_intel kvm irqbypass
CPU: 8 PID: 251 Comm: kworker/8:1 Tainted: G W 6.6.0-rc1-e7af8d17224a-x86/gmem-vm #119
Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 0.0.0 02/06/2015
Workqueue: events async_pf_execute [kvm]
RIP: 0010:kvm_put_kvm+0x2d/0x320 [kvm]
Call Trace:
If kvm_clear_async_pf_completion_queue() actually flushes the workqueue, then there’s no need to gift async_pf_execute() a reference because all invocations of async_pf_execute() will be forced to complete before the vCPU and its VM are destroyed/freed. And that in turn fixes the module unloading bug as __fput() won’t do module_put() on the last vCPU reference until the vCPU has been freed, e.g. if closing the vCPU file also puts the last reference to the KVM module.
Note that kvm_check_async_pf_completion() may also take the work item off the completion queue and so also needs to flush the work queue, as the work will not be seen by kvm_clear_async_pf_completion_queue(). Waiting on the workqueue could theoretically delay a vCPU due to waiting for the work to complete, but that’s a very, very small chance, and likely a very small delay. kvm_arch_async_page_present_queued() unconditionally makes a new request, i.e. will effectively delay entering the guest, so the remaining work is really just:
trace_kvm_async_pf_completed(addr, cr2_or_gpa);
__kvm_vcpu_wake_up(vcpu);
mmput(mm);
and mmput() can’t drop the last reference to the page tables if the vCPU is still alive, i.e. the vCPU won’t get stuck tearing down page tables.
Add a helper to do the flushing, specifically to deal with “wakeup all” work items, as they aren’t actually work items, i.e. are never placed in a workqueue. Trying to flush a bogus workqueue entry rightly makes __flush_work() complain (kudos to whoever added that sanity check).
Note, commit 5f6de5cbebee (“KVM: Prevent module exit until al —truncated—
Details
- Affected product:
- AlmaLinux 9.2 ESU , CentOS 8.4 ELS , CentOS 8.5 ELS , CentOS Stream 8 ELS , Ubuntu 16.04 ELS , Ubuntu 18.04 ELS
- Affected packages:
- kernel @ 5.14.0 (+7 more)
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
KVM: Always flush async #PF workqueue when vCPU is being destroyed
Always flush the per-vCPU async #PF workqueue when a vCPU is clearing its completion queue, e.g. when a VM and all its vCPUs is being destroyed. KVM must ensure that none of its workqueue callbacks is running when the last reference to the KVM module is put. Gifting a reference to the associated VM prevents the workqueue callback from dereferencing freed vCPU/VM memory, but does not prevent the KVM module from being unloaded before the callback completes.
Drop the misguided VM refcount gifting, as calling kvm_put_kvm() from async_pf_execute() if kvm_put_kvm() flushes the async #PF workqueue will result in deadlock. async_pf_execute() can’t return until kvm_put_kvm() finishes, and kvm_put_kvm() can’t return until async_pf_execute() finishes:
WARNING: CPU: 8 PID: 251 at virt/kvm/kvm_main.c:1435 kvm_put_kvm+0x2d/0x320 [kvm]
Modules linked in: vhost_net vhost vhost_iotlb tap kvm_intel kvm irqbypass
CPU: 8 PID: 251 Comm: kworker/8:1 Tainted: G W 6.6.0-rc1-e7af8d17224a-x86/gmem-vm #119
Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 0.0.0 02/06/2015
Workqueue: events async_pf_execute [kvm]
RIP: 0010:kvm_put_kvm+0x2d/0x320 [kvm]
Call Trace:
If kvm_clear_async_pf_completion_queue() actually flushes the workqueue, then there’s no need to gift async_pf_execute() a reference because all invocations of async_pf_execute() will be forced to complete before the vCPU and its VM are destroyed/freed. And that in turn fixes the module unloading bug as __fput() won’t do module_put() on the last vCPU reference until the vCPU has been freed, e.g. if closing the vCPU file also puts the last reference to the KVM module.
Note that kvm_check_async_pf_completion() may also take the work item off the completion queue and so also needs to flush the work queue, as the work will not be seen by kvm_clear_async_pf_completion_queue(). Waiting on the workqueue could theoretically delay a vCPU due to waiting for the work to complete, but that’s a very, very small chance, and likely a very small delay. kvm_arch_async_page_present_queued() unconditionally makes a new request, i.e. will effectively delay entering the guest, so the remaining work is really just:
trace_kvm_async_pf_completed(addr, cr2_or_gpa);
__kvm_vcpu_wake_up(vcpu);
mmput(mm);
and mmput() can’t drop the last reference to the page tables if the vCPU is still alive, i.e. the vCPU won’t get stuck tearing down page tables.
Add a helper to do the flushing, specifically to deal with “wakeup all” work items, as they aren’t actually work items, i.e. are never placed in a workqueue. Trying to flush a bogus workqueue entry rightly makes __flush_work() complain (kudos to whoever added that sanity check).
Note, commit 5f6de5cbebee (“KVM: Prevent module exit until al —truncated—