CVE-2023-52474: IB/hfi1: Fix bugs with non-PAGE_SIZE-end multi-iovec user SDMA requests
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
IB/hfi1: Fix bugs with non-PAGE_SIZE-end multi-iovec user SDMA requests
hfi1 user SDMA request processing has two bugs that can cause data
corruption for user SDMA requests that have multiple payload iovecs
where an iovec other than the tail iovec does not run up to the page
boundary for the buffer pointed to by that iovec.a
Here are the specific bugs:
1. user_sdma_txadd() does not use struct user_sdma_iovec->iov.iov_len.
Rather, user_sdma_txadd() will add up to PAGE_SIZE bytes from iovec
to the packet, even if some of those bytes are past
iovec->iov.iov_len and are thus not intended to be in the packet.
2. user_sdma_txadd() and user_sdma_send_pkts() fail to advance to the
next iovec in user_sdma_request->iovs when the current iovec
is not PAGE_SIZE and does not contain enough data to complete the
packet. The transmitted packet will contain the wrong data from the
iovec pages.
This has not been an issue with SDMA packets from hfi1 Verbs or PSM2
because they only produce iovecs that end short of PAGE_SIZE as the tail
iovec of an SDMA request.
Fixing these bugs exposes other bugs with the SDMA pin cache
(struct mmu_rb_handler) that get in way of supporting user SDMA requests
with multiple payload iovecs whose buffers do not end at PAGE_SIZE. So
this commit fixes those issues as well.
Here are the mmu_rb_handler bugs that non-PAGE_SIZE-end multi-iovec
payload user SDMA requests can hit:
1. Overlapping memory ranges in mmu_rb_handler will result in duplicate
pinnings.
2. When extending an existing mmu_rb_handler entry (struct mmu_rb_node),
the mmu_rb code (1) removes the existing entry under a lock, (2)
releases that lock, pins the new pages, (3) then reacquires the lock
to insert the extended mmu_rb_node.
If someone else comes in and inserts an overlapping entry between (2)
and (3), insert in (3) will fail.
The failure path code in this case unpins _all_ pages in either the
original mmu_rb_node or the new mmu_rb_node that was inserted between
(2) and (3).
3. In hfi1_mmu_rb_remove_unless_exact(), mmu_rb_node->refcount is
incremented outside of mmu_rb_handler->lock. As a result, mmu_rb_node
could be evicted by another thread that gets mmu_rb_handler->lock and
checks mmu_rb_node->refcount before mmu_rb_node->refcount is
incremented.
4. Related to #2 above, SDMA request submission failure path does not
check mmu_rb_node->refcount before freeing mmu_rb_node object.
If there are other SDMA requests in progress whose iovecs have
pointers to the now-freed mmu_rb_node(s), those pointers to the
now-freed mmu_rb nodes will be dereferenced when those SDMA requests
complete.
Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-52474 is a Linux kernel bug in the hfi1 InfiniBand/Omni-Path driver. Under specific user SDMA request patterns, the driver can transmit unintended or wrong data and hit memory-management races. Business urgency is highest for HPC or research environments using hfi1 hardware and user SDMA.
Executive priority
Treat as targeted infrastructure maintenance, not a broad emergency. Patch promptly where hfi1 is deployed, especially shared HPC systems where kernel data corruption or driver memory bugs can disrupt workloads.
Technical view
The hfi1 user SDMA path mishandles multi-iovec payloads when a non-tail iovec ends before a page boundary. user_sdma_txadd can ignore iov_len and packet assembly can fail to advance iovecs correctly. Related mmu_rb_handler pin-cache bugs include overlapping pins, race conditions, and possible dereference of freed mmu_rb_node objects.
Likely exposure
Exposure appears limited to Linux systems using the hfi1 driver and user SDMA. The source notes hfi1 Verbs and PSM2 did not produce the problematic iovec pattern. General Linux systems without hfi1 hardware or loaded driver are unlikely to be exposed.
Exploitation context
CISA KEV is false, and the provided sources do not report active exploitation. The issue is not described as remotely exploitable. Triggering depends on specialized hfi1 user SDMA request handling with multi-iovec buffers that do not align to page boundaries.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the Linux kernel CVE description and stable commit references. No CVSS, CWE, exploit report, or distribution-specific advisory is included in the provided bundle. Avoid assuming impact beyond data corruption and the documented pin-cache race/use-after-free conditions.
Mitigation direction
Apply vendor or distribution kernel updates containing the referenced stable Linux fixes.
Prioritize HPC clusters and systems with hfi1 or Intel Omni-Path adapters.
If hfi1 is unused, consider disabling it according to vendor guidance.
Review vendor advisories for exact fixed package versions.
Validation and detection
Inventory Linux kernel versions on systems with hfi1-capable hardware.
Check whether the hfi1 driver is present, loaded, or packaged.
Confirm kernel builds include the relevant stable commits or vendor backports.
Review workload use of hfi1 user SDMA, not just generic InfiniBand use.
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
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