In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
arm64/fpsimd: Discard stale CPU state when handling SME traps
The logic for handling SME traps manipulates saved FPSIMD/SVE/SME state
incorrectly, and a race with preemption can result in a task having
TIF_SME set and TIF_FOREIGN_FPSTATE clear even though the live CPU state
is stale (e.g. with SME traps enabled). This can result in warnings from
do_sme_acc() where SME traps are not expected while TIF_SME is set:
| /* With TIF_SME userspace shouldn't generate any traps */
| if (test_and_set_thread_flag(TIF_SME))
| WARN_ON(1);
This is very similar to the SVE issue we fixed in commit:
751ecf6afd6568ad ("arm64/sve: Discard stale CPU state when handling SVE traps")
The race can occur when the SME trap handler is preempted before and
after manipulating the saved FPSIMD/SVE/SME state, starting and ending on
the same CPU, e.g.
| void do_sme_acc(unsigned long esr, struct pt_regs *regs)
| {
| // Trap on CPU 0 with TIF_SME clear, SME traps enabled
| // task->fpsimd_cpu is 0.
| // per_cpu_ptr(&fpsimd_last_state, 0) is task.
|
| ...
|
| // Preempted; migrated from CPU 0 to CPU 1.
| // TIF_FOREIGN_FPSTATE is set.
|
| get_cpu_fpsimd_context();
|
| /* With TIF_SME userspace shouldn't generate any traps */
| if (test_and_set_thread_flag(TIF_SME))
| WARN_ON(1);
|
| if (!test_thread_flag(TIF_FOREIGN_FPSTATE)) {
| unsigned long vq_minus_one =
| sve_vq_from_vl(task_get_sme_vl(current)) - 1;
| sme_set_vq(vq_minus_one);
|
| fpsimd_bind_task_to_cpu();
| }
|
| put_cpu_fpsimd_context();
|
| // Preempted; migrated from CPU 1 to CPU 0.
| // task->fpsimd_cpu is still 0
| // If per_cpu_ptr(&fpsimd_last_state, 0) is still task then:
| // - Stale HW state is reused (with SME traps enabled)
| // - TIF_FOREIGN_FPSTATE is cleared
| // - A return to userspace skips HW state restore
| }
Fix the case where the state is not live and TIF_FOREIGN_FPSTATE is set
by calling fpsimd_flush_task_state() to detach from the saved CPU
state. This ensures that a subsequent context switch will not reuse the
stale CPU state, and will instead set TIF_FOREIGN_FPSTATE, forcing the
new state to be reloaded from memory prior to a return to userspace.
Note: this was originallly posted as [1].
[ Rutland: rewrite commit message ]
References
Configurations
History
18 Dec 2025, 20:53
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| First Time |
Linux
Debian Debian debian Linux Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPE | cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
|
| CVSS |
v2 : v3 : |
v2 : unknown
v3 : 5.5 |
| CWE | NVD-CWE-noinfo | |
| References | () https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/43be952e885476dafb74aa832c0847b2f4f650c6 - Patch | |
| References | () https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6103f9ba51a59afb5a0f32299c837377c5a5a693 - Patch | |
| References | () https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c4a4786d93e99517d6f10ed56b9ffba4ce88d3b3 - Patch | |
| References | () https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d3eaab3c70905c5467e5c4ea403053d67505adeb - Patch | |
| References | () https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/de89368de3894a8db27caeb8fd902ba1c49f696a - Patch | |
| References | () https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00008.html - Third Party Advisory |
03 Nov 2025, 18:16
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| References |
|
03 Jul 2025, 15:13
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Summary |
|
03 Jul 2025, 09:15
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| New CVE |
Information
Published : 2025-07-03 09:15
Updated : 2025-12-18 20:53
NVD link : CVE-2025-38170
Mitre link : CVE-2025-38170
CVE.ORG link : CVE-2025-38170
JSON object : View
Products Affected
debian
- debian_linux
linux
- linux_kernel
CWE
