published October 14, 2026
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
powerpc: Do not restore KUAP in arch_exit_to_user_mode_prepare()
KUAP means kernel cannot touch user memory unless it explicitly is
enabled. In the kernel it should stay AMR_KUAP_BLOCKED. While returning
to userspace just before RFI, kernel should restore the user AMR value
back.
Looks like GENERIC_ENTRY might be treating arch_exit_to_user_mode_prepare()
as the last architecture step before returning to userspace.
commit bee25f97ad24 ("powerpc: Enable GENERIC_ENTRY feature")
therefore called kuap_user_restore() from that hook. But on PowerPC that
is too early. After irqentry_exit() / syscall_exit_to_user_mode() we
still run platform specific exit routines.
e.g. code snippets showing both exception handling and system call
handling as the callers of function arch_exit_to_user_mode_prepare()
which does kuap_user_restore(). The below path shows that calling
kuap_user_restore() is too early when called from
arch_exit_to_user_mode_prepare().
Exception handling in exceptions-64s.S
=======================================
bl CFUNC(do_page_fault)
..DEFINE_INTERRUPT_HANDLER_ASYNC(do_page_fault)
arch_interrupt_async_enter_prepare(regs);
state = irqentry_enter(regs);
instrumentation_begin();
irq_enter_rcu();
handler(regs);
nap_adjust_return(regs);
irq_exit_rcu();
instrumentation_end();
arch_interrupt_async_exit_prepare(regs);
irqentry_exit(regs, state); <<< too early
irqentry_exit_to_user_mode()
__exit_to_user_mode_prepare(regs, EXIT_TO_USER_MODE_WORK_IRQ);
arch_exit_to_user_mode_prepare(regs, ti_work); <<< too early
b interrupt_return_srr
.. bl CFUNC(interrupt_exit_user_prepare) <<< already calls kuap_user_restore
prep_irq_for_enabled_exit() retry can run kernel code with IRQs on. So
only when that routine is fully finished is when the user KUAP should be
fully restored which interrupt_exit_user_prepare() already takes care of
before returning.
Similarly for system call handling in interrupt_64.S
======================================================
bl CFUNC(system_call_exception)
.Lsyscall_exit:
addi r4,r1,STACK_INT_FRAME_REGS
li r5,0 /* !scv */
bl CFUNC(syscall_exit_prepare)
.. kuap_assert_locked();
syscall_exit_to_user_mode(regs); <<< too early
syscall_exit_to_user_mode_prepare(regs); <<< too early
kuap_user_restore(regs); <<< already calls
syscall_exit_prepare(), which can enable IRQs, replay a pending
interrupt, and only then rfi. Those functions already restore KUAP
immediately before rfi.
Note that if we restore the user AMR too early like in the current code
as shown from the code snippets above, then we get the following warning
when CONFIG_PPC_KUAP_DEBUG is enabled:
WARNING: arch/powerpc/include/asm/book3s/64/kup.h:293 at interrupt_exit_user_prepare+0x1a0/0x1c0
Hardware name: IBM pSeries (emulated by qemu) POWER10 (architected)
TRAP: 0700
LR: c00000000000d8d4 CTR: c0000000021fe500
MSR: <SF,EE,ME,IR,DR,RI,LE> CR: 44000804 XER: 20040000
interrupt_exit_user_prepare+0x1a0/0x1c0
interrupt_return_srr_user+0x8/0x12c