CVE-2020-11884: Race Condition

Published Apr 27, 2020
·
Updated

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel on s390 architecture. The issue occurs on multiprocessing systems when one s390 CPU is in Secondary Address Mode and another CPU does a kernel page table upgrade. An inter-processor interrupt (IPI) is then sent to each active CPU to update the control registers with new page table addresses. In Secondary Address Mode the CPU's CR1 register may hold kernel space address to fetch instructions from, but after IPI processing, the same CR1 register is set to point to a user space address. An unprivileged user or process on the system may use this flaw to crash the system or escalate their privileges on the system. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to data confidentiality and integrity as well as system availability.

Other sources

An issue was found in the way Linux kernel on s390 architecture upgrades page table and updates corresponding addresses in CPU's control registers. The issue occurs on multiprocessing system, when one s390 CPU is in Secondary Address Mode and another CPU does kernel page table upgrade. It leads to Inter Processor Interrupts (IPI) being sent to each active CPU, for it to update its control register(s) with new page table address(es). In the Secondary Address Mode, CPU's CR1 register may hold kernel space address to fetch instruction from. But after the IPI processing, the same CR1 register is set to point to a user space address.

An unprivileged user/process on s390 system may use this flaw to crash the system resulting in DoS OR potentially escalate privileges on the system.

Upstream patch: --------------- -> https://git.kernel.org/linus/316ec154810960052d4586b634156c54d0778f74

Red Hat

In the Linux kernel 4.19 through 5.6.7 on the s390 platform, code execution may occur because of a race condition, as demonstrated by code in enablesacfuaccess in arch/s390/lib/uaccess.c that fails to protect against a concurrent page table upgrade, aka CID-3f777e19d171. A crash could also occur.

Affected Software

71 affected componentsFixes available
redhat/kernel<0:4.18.0-193.1.2.el8_2
0:4.18.0-193.1.2.el8_2
redhat/kernel<0:4.18.0-80.23.2.el8_0
0:4.18.0-80.23.2.el8_0
redhat/kernel<0:4.18.0-147.13.2.el8_1
0:4.18.0-147.13.2.el8_1
redhat/kernel<5.7
5.7
Linux Linux kernel>=4.15<4.19.119
Linux Linux kernel>=4.20<5.4.36
Linux Linux kernel>=5.5<5.6.8
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=16.04
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=18.04
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=19.10
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=20.04
Debian Debian Linux=10.0
Fedoraproject Fedora=30
Fedoraproject Fedora=31
Fedoraproject Fedora=32
NetApp Active Iq Unified Manager Vmware Vsphere
NetApp Cloud Backup
NetApp Element Software
NetApp Hci Management Node
NetApp Solidfire
NetApp Steelstore Cloud Integrated Storage
NetApp Solidfire Baseboard Management Controller
NetApp Bootstrap Os
NetApp Hci Compute Node
NetApp A700s Firmware
NetApp A700s
NetApp H300s Firmware
NetApp H300s
NetApp H500s Firmware
NetApp H500s
NetApp H700s Firmware
NetApp H700s
NetApp H300e Firmware
NetApp H300e
NetApp H500e Firmware
NetApp H500e
NetApp H700e Firmware
NetApp H700e
NetApp H410s Firmware
NetApp H410s
NetApp H410c Firmware
NetApp H410c
NetApp H610c Firmware
NetApp H610c
NetApp H610s Firmware
NetApp H610s
All of the following
NetApp Bootstrap Os
NetApp Hci Compute Node
All of the following
NetApp A700s Firmware
NetApp A700s
All of the following
NetApp H300s Firmware
NetApp H300s
All of the following
NetApp H500s Firmware
NetApp H500s
All of the following
NetApp H700s Firmware
NetApp H700s
All of the following
NetApp H300e Firmware
NetApp H300e
All of the following
NetApp H500e Firmware
NetApp H500e
All of the following
NetApp H700e Firmware
NetApp H700e
All of the following
NetApp H410s Firmware
NetApp H410s
All of the following
NetApp H410c Firmware
NetApp H410c
All of the following
NetApp H610c Firmware
NetApp H610c
All of the following
NetApp H610s Firmware
NetApp H610s
debian/linux
5.10.223-15.10.262-16.1.176-16.1.180-16.12.94-16.12.101-17.1.7-17.1.8-1

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade redhat/kernel to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 0:4.18.0-193.1.2.el8_2
  2. Upgrade

    Upgrade redhat/kernel to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 0:4.18.0-80.23.2.el8_0
  3. Upgrade

    Upgrade redhat/kernel to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 0:4.18.0-147.13.2.el8_1
  4. Upgrade

    Upgrade redhat/kernel to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 5.7
  5. Upgrade

    Upgrade debian/linux to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 5.10.223-1Fixed in 5.10.262-1Fixed in 6.1.176-1Fixed in 6.1.180-1Fixed in 6.12.94-1Fixed in 6.12.101-1Fixed in 7.1.7-1Fixed in 7.1.8-1

Event History

Apr 28, 2020
CVE Published
06:00 PM
Apr 29, 2020
CVE Published
via MITRE·12:07 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·12:07 PM
Description
Data Sourced
via NVD·01:15 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software
Jun 22, 2026
Data Sourced
via Launchpad·10:44 AM
Description
Aug 12, 2026
Data Sourced
via Debian·04:29 PM
DescriptionAffected Software
Aug 14, 2026
Data Sourced
via Ubuntu·04:30 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityAffected Software

Parent advisories

This vulnerability appears in the following advisories.

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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the vulnerability ID?

The vulnerability ID is CVE-2020-11884.

2

What is the severity of CVE-2020-11884?

The severity of CVE-2020-11884 is high with a severity value of 7.

3

How does CVE-2020-11884 occur?

CVE-2020-11884 occurs on multiprocessing systems when one s390 CPU is in Secondary Address Mode and another CPU does a kernel page table upgrade.

4

What is the affected software for CVE-2020-11884?

The affected software includes Linux kernels 4.19 through 5.6.7 on the s390 platform.

5

Is there a fix for CVE-2020-11884?

Yes, there are remediation steps available for CVE-2020-11884. Please refer to the references for more information.

Contact

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