published September 24, 2026
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
arm64: hibernate: mask DAIF before restoring hibernated kernel
The arm64 hibernate code manages the exception masking in an unsound
way, leading to potential crashes and/or warnings during resume.
When a hibernation image is saved in `swsusp_arch_suspend()`, all DAIF
exceptions are masked (by virtue of `local_daif_save()`), and the
suspended image is saved assuming that all DAIF exceptions will remain
masked when the image is restored.
When a hibernation image is resumed by `swsusp_arch_resume()`, only
interrupts are masked (by virtue of `local_irq_disable()` in
`resume_target_kernel()`). When pseudo-NMI is enabled the DAIF.IF bits
will be clear, and regardless of pseudo-NMI the DAIF.DA bits will be
clear.
This means that there are two problems:
(1) It is possible to take Debug, SError, or pseudo-NMI exceptions
during the resume process. This is unsafe, as during the resume
process both the old ane new kernels will tranisently be in an
inconsistent state, and swsusp_arch_suspend_exit() won't retain
an executable mapping of any exception vectors.
Any exception taken here will be fatal and silent.
(2) When re-entering the resumed kernel, some DAIF bits will be clear
unexpectedly. This permits Debug, SError, or pseudo-NMI exceptions
to be taken for a short period while the resumed kernel is not yet
in a consistent state.
This is detected by CONFIG_ARM64_DEBUG_PRIORITY_MASKING.
Avoid these issues by masking all DAIF exceptions during resume.