CVE-2023-52659: linux kernel — Fix

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: x86/mm: Ensure input to pfn_to_kaddr() is treated as a 64-bit type On 64-bit platforms, the pfn_to_kaddr() macro requires that the input value is 64 bits in order to ensure that valid address bits don't get lost when shifting that input by PAGE_SHIFT to calculate the physical address to provide a virtual address for. One such example is in pvalidate_pages() (used by SEV-SNP guests), where the GFN in the struct used for page-state change requests is a 40-bit bit-field, so attempts to pass this GFN field directly into pfn_to_kaddr() ends up causing guest crashes when dealing with addresses above the 1TB range due to the above. Fix this issue with SEV-SNP guests, as well as any similar cases that might cause issues in current/future code, by using an inline function, instead of a macro, so that the input is implicitly cast to the expected 64-bit input type prior to performing the shift operation. While it might be argued that the issue is on the caller side, other archs/macros have taken similar approaches to deal with instances like this, such as ARM explicitly casting the input to phys_addr_t: e48866647b48 ("ARM: 8396/1: use phys_addr_t in pfn_to_kaddr()") A C inline function is even better though. [ mingo: Refined the changelog some more & added __always_inline. ]

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CVSS v3.1 Score

5.5

MEDIUM

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

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
linux	linux_kernel	6.5 — 6.6.23
linux	linux_kernel	6.7 — 6.7.11
linux	linux_kernel	6.8 — 6.8.2

References

Advisories & Patches

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/325956b0173f11e98f90462be4829a8b8b0682ce https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7e1471888a5e6e846e9b4d306e5327db2b58e64e https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/814305b5c23cb815ada68d43019f39050472b25f https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8e5647a723c49d73b9f108a8bb38e8c29d3948ea https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/325956b0173f11e98f90462be4829a8b8b0682ce https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7e1471888a5e6e846e9b4d306e5327db2b58e64e https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/814305b5c23cb815ada68d43019f39050472b25f https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8e5647a723c49d73b9f108a8bb38e8c29d3948ea

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-52659? +

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: x86/mm: Ensure input to pfn_to_kaddr() is treated as a 64-bit type On 64-bit platforms, the pfn_to_kaddr() macro requires that the input value is 64 bits in order to ensure that valid address bits don't get lost when shifting that input by PAGE_SHIFT to calculate the physical address to provide a virtual address for. One such example is in pvalidate_pages() (used by SEV-SNP guests), where the GFN in the struct used for page-state change requests is a 40-bit bit-field, so attempts to pass this GFN field directly into pfn_to_kaddr() ends up causing guest crashes when dealing with addresses above the 1TB range due to the above. Fix this issue with SEV-SNP guests, as well as any similar cases that might cause issues in current/future code, by using an inline function, instead of a macro, so that the input is implicitly cast to the expected 64-bit input type prior to performing the shift operation. While it might be argued that the issue is on the caller side, other archs/macros have taken similar approaches to deal with instances like this, such as ARM explicitly casting the input to phys_addr_t: e48866647b48 ("ARM: 8396/1: use phys_addr_t in pfn_to_kaddr()") A C inline function is even better though. [ mingo: Refined the changelog some more & added __always_inline. ] It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2023-52659? +

CVE-2023-52659 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.5 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance.

What products are affected by CVE-2023-52659? +

CVE-2023-52659 affects products from linux, specifically: linux_kernel. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2023-52659? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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CVE-2023-52659