Error Interrupt Recursion in x86's APIC Architecture Can Cause Deadlock
CVE-2024-45817

Currently unrated

Key Information:

Vendor

Xen Project
Status
Xen
Vendor
CVE Published:
25 September 2024

What is CVE-2024-45817?

In x86's APIC (Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller) architecture, error conditions are reported in a status register. Furthermore, the OS can opt to receive an interrupt when a new error occurs.

It is possible to configure the error interrupt with an illegal vector, which generates an error when an error interrupt is raised.

This case causes Xen to recurse through vlapic_error(). The recursion itself is bounded; errors accumulate in the the status register and only generate an interrupt when a new status bit becomes set.

However, the lock protecting this state in Xen will try to be taken recursively, and deadlock.

Affected Version(s)

Xen consult Xen advisory XSA-462

References

https://xenbits.xenproject.org/xsa/advisory-462.html

Timeline

  • Vulnerability published

  • Vulnerability Reserved

Credit

This issue was discovered after a BUGSENG team working on MISRA C compliance of Xen pointed attention to ECLAIR reports for MISRA C Rule 17.2 (Functions shall not call themselves, either directly or indirectly).
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