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):
--8<-----
__swap_entry_free() might be the last user and result in
"count == SWAP_HAS_CACHE".
swapoff->try_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<-----
Analysis and contextual insights are available on OpenCVE Cloud.
No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.
Additional remediation guidance may be available on OpenCVE Cloud.
Tracking
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| Source | ID | Title |
|---|---|---|
Debian DLA |
DLA-3842-1 | linux-5.10 security update |
Debian DSA |
DSA-5681-1 | linux security update |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-6816-1 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-6817-1 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-6817-2 | Linux kernel (OEM) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-6817-3 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-6878-1 | Linux kernel (Oracle) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-6898-1 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-6898-2 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-6898-3 | Linux kernel kernel vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-6898-4 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-6917-1 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-6919-1 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-6927-1 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-7019-1 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-7069-1 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-7069-2 | Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-7073-1 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-7073-2 | Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-7119-1 | Linux kernel (IoT) vulnerabilities |
Tue, 12 May 2026 12:30:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| References |
|
Wed, 16 Jul 2025 13:45:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Metrics |
epss
|
epss
|
Thu, 20 Mar 2025 21:45:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| First Time appeared |
Debian
Debian debian Linux |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Debian
Debian debian Linux |
Wed, 19 Feb 2025 15:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| First Time appeared |
Redhat rhel Eus
|
|
| CPEs | cpe:/a:redhat:rhel_eus:9.4 | |
| Vendors & Products |
Redhat rhel Eus
|
Fri, 22 Nov 2024 12:00:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| References |
|
Wed, 13 Nov 2024 02:45:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| CPEs | cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:9 cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9 |
Tue, 05 Nov 2024 10:45:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| References |
|
Thu, 08 Aug 2024 19:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| First Time appeared |
Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux |
|
| CPEs | cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:8::nfv cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8 |
|
| Vendors & Products |
Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux |
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-05-12T11:50:50.097Z
Reserved: 2024-02-19T14:20:24.201Z
Link: CVE-2024-26960
Updated: 2024-08-02T00:21:06.048Z
Status : Modified
Published: 2024-05-01T06:15:12.323
Modified: 2026-05-12T12:16:28.063
Link: CVE-2024-26960
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
Debian DLA
Debian DSA
Ubuntu USN