published March 25, 2026
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
bpf: Fix race in cpumap on PREEMPT_RT
On PREEMPT_RT kernels, the per-CPU xdp_bulk_queue (bq) can be accessed
concurrently by multiple preemptible tasks on the same CPU.
The original code assumes bq_enqueue() and __cpu_map_flush() run
atomically with respect to each other on the same CPU, relying on
local_bh_disable() to prevent preemption. However, on PREEMPT_RT,
local_bh_disable() only calls migrate_disable() (when
PREEMPT_RT_NEEDS_BH_LOCK is not set) and does not disable
preemption, which allows CFS scheduling to preempt a task during
bq_flush_to_queue(), enabling another task on the same CPU to enter
bq_enqueue() and operate on the same per-CPU bq concurrently.
This leads to several races:
1. Double __list_del_clearprev(): after bq->count is reset in
bq_flush_to_queue(), a preempting task can call bq_enqueue() ->
bq_flush_to_queue() on the same bq when bq->count reaches
CPU_MAP_BULK_SIZE. Both tasks then call __list_del_clearprev()
on the same bq->flush_node, the second call dereferences the
prev pointer that was already set to NULL by the first.
2. bq->count and bq->q[] races: concurrent bq_enqueue() can corrupt
the packet queue while bq_flush_to_queue() is processing it.
The race between task A (__cpu_map_flush -> bq_flush_to_queue) and
task B (bq_enqueue -> bq_flush_to_queue) on the same CPU:
Task A (xdp_do_flush) Task B (cpu_map_enqueue)
---------------------- ------------------------
bq_flush_to_queue(bq)
spin_lock(&q->producer_lock)
/* flush bq->q[] to ptr_ring */
bq->count = 0
spin_unlock(&q->producer_lock)
bq_enqueue(rcpu, xdpf)
<-- CFS preempts Task A --> bq->q[bq->count++] = xdpf
/* ... more enqueues until full ... */
bq_flush_to_queue(bq)
spin_lock(&q->producer_lock)
/* flush to ptr_ring */
spin_unlock(&q->producer_lock)
__list_del_clearprev(flush_node)
/* sets flush_node.prev = NULL */
<-- Task A resumes -->
__list_del_clearprev(flush_node)
flush_node.prev->next = ...
/* prev is NULL -> kernel oops */
Fix this by adding a local_lock_t to xdp_bulk_queue and acquiring it
in bq_enqueue() and __cpu_map_flush(). These paths already run under
local_bh_disable(), so use local_lock_nested_bh() which on non-RT is
a pure annotation with no overhead, and on PREEMPT_RT provides a
per-CPU sleeping lock that serializes access to the bq.
To reproduce, insert an mdelay(100) between bq->count = 0 and
__list_del_clearprev() in bq_flush_to_queue(), then run reproducer
provided by syzkaller.