In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
PCI: Fix use-after-free in pci_bus_release_domain_nr()
Commit c14f7ccc9f5d ("PCI: Assign PCI domain IDs by ida_alloc()") introduced a use-after-free bug in the bus removal cleanup. The issue was found with kfence:
[ 19.293351] BUG: KFENCE: use-after-free read in pci_bus_release_domain_nr+0x10/0x70
[ 19.302817] Use-after-free read at 0x000000007f3b80eb (in kfence-#115): [ 19.309677] pci_bus_release_domain_nr+0x10/0x70 [ 19.309691] dw_pcie_host_deinit+0x28/0x78 [ 19.309702] tegra_pcie_deinit_controller+0x1c/0x38 [pcie_tegra194] [ 19.309734] tegra_pcie_dw_probe+0x648/0xb28 [pcie_tegra194] [ 19.309752] platform_probe+0x90/0xd8 ...
[ 19.311457] kfence-#115: 0x00000000063a155a-0x00000000ba698da8, size=1072, cache=kmalloc-2k
[ 19.311469] allocated by task 96 on cpu 10 at 19.279323s: [ 19.311562] __kmem_cache_alloc_node+0x260/0x278 [ 19.311571] kmalloc_trace+0x24/0x30 [ 19.311580] pci_alloc_bus+0x24/0xa0 [ 19.311590] pci_register_host_bridge+0x48/0x4b8 [ 19.311601] pci_scan_root_bus_bridge+0xc0/0xe8 [ 19.311613] pci_host_probe+0x18/0xc0 [ 19.311623] dw_pcie_host_init+0x2c0/0x568 [ 19.311630] tegra_pcie_dw_probe+0x610/0xb28 [pcie_tegra194] [ 19.311647] platform_probe+0x90/0xd8 ...
[ 19.311782] freed by task 96 on cpu 10 at 19.285833s: [ 19.311799] release_pcibus_dev+0x30/0x40 [ 19.311808] device_release+0x30/0x90 [ 19.311814] kobject_put+0xa8/0x120 [ 19.311832] device_unregister+0x20/0x30 [ 19.311839] pci_remove_bus+0x78/0x88 [ 19.311850] pci_remove_root_bus+0x5c/0x98 [ 19.311860] dw_pcie_host_deinit+0x28/0x78 [ 19.311866] tegra_pcie_deinit_controller+0x1c/0x38 [pcie_tegra194] [ 19.311883] tegra_pcie_dw_probe+0x648/0xb28 [pcie_tegra194] [ 19.311900] platform_probe+0x90/0xd8 ...
[ 19.313579] CPU: 10 PID: 96 Comm: kworker/u24:2 Not tainted 6.2.0 #4 [ 19.320171] Hardware name: /, BIOS 1.0-d7fb19b 08/10/2022 [ 19.325852] Workqueue: events_unbound deferred_probe_work_func
The stack trace is a bit misleading as dw_pcie_host_deinit() doesn't directly call pci_bus_release_domain_nr(). The issue turns out to be in pci_remove_root_bus() which first calls pci_remove_bus() which frees the struct pci_bus when its struct device is released. Then pci_bus_release_domain_nr() is called and accesses the freed struct pci_bus. Reordering these fixes the issue.
| Software | From | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| linux / linux_kernel | 6.2 | 6.2.12 |
| linux / linux_kernel | 6.3-rc1 | 6.3-rc1.x |
| linux / linux_kernel | 6.3-rc2 | 6.3-rc2.x |
| linux / linux_kernel | 6.3-rc3 | 6.3-rc3.x |
| linux / linux_kernel | 6.3-rc4 | 6.3-rc4.x |
| linux / linux_kernel | 6.3-rc5 | 6.3-rc5.x |
| linux / linux_kernel | 6.3-rc6 | 6.3-rc6.x |
A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.
CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.
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Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.
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