CVE-2024-35873
Vulnerability Scoring
Status: Awaiting Analysis
Last updated: 🕘 21 Nov 2024, 09:21 UTC
Originally published on: 🕘 19 May 2024, 09:15 UTC
Time between publication and last update: 186 days
CVSS Release:
CVE-2024-35873: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: riscv: Fix vector state restore in rt_sigreturn() The RISC-V Vector specification states in "Appendix D: Calling Convention for Vector State" [1] that "Executing a system call causes all caller-saved vector registers (v0-v31, vl, vtype) and vstart to become unspecified.". In the RISC-V kernel this is called "discarding the vstate". Returning from a signal handler via the rt_sigreturn() syscall, vector discard is also performed. However, this is not an issue since the vector state should be restored from the sigcontext, and therefore not care about the vector discard. The "live state" is the actual vector register in the running context, and the "vstate" is the vector state of the task. A dirty live state, means that the vstate and live state are not in synch. When vectorized user_from_copy() was introduced, an bug sneaked in at the restoration code, related to the discard of the live state. An example when this go wrong: 1. A userland application is executing vector code 2. The application receives a signal, and the signal handler is entered. 3. The application returns from the signal handler, using the rt_sigreturn() syscall. 4. The live vector state is discarded upon entering the rt_sigreturn(), and the live state is marked as "dirty", indicating that the live state need to be synchronized with the current vstate. 5. rt_sigreturn() restores the vstate, except the Vector registers, from the sigcontext 6. rt_sigreturn() restores the Vector registers, from the sigcontext, and now the vectorized user_from_copy() is used. The dirty live state from the discard is saved to the vstate, making the vstate corrupt. 7. rt_sigreturn() returns to the application, which crashes due to corrupted vstate. Note that the vectorized user_from_copy() is invoked depending on the value of CONFIG_RISCV_ISA_V_UCOPY_THRESHOLD. Default is 768, which means that vlen has to be larger than 128b for this bug to trigger. The fix is simply to mark the live state as non-dirty/clean prior performing the vstate restore.
The exploitability of CVE-2024-35873 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).
No exploitability data is available for CVE-2024-35873.
A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.
Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.
Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.
Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2024-35873, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.
Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2024-35873, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.
The EPSS score estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the near future.
EPSS Score: 0.043% (probability of exploit)
EPSS Percentile: 11.87%
(lower percentile = lower relative risk)
This vulnerability is less risky than approximately 88.13% of others.
Unknown
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