🇰🇷 한글 설명
Linux 커널의 perf 성능 모니터링 시스템에서 비활성 이벤트에 대해 start/stop을 호출할 때 발생하는 논리적 결함입니다. 비활성 상태인 이벤트의 하드웨어 인덱스가 -1로 유지되어, PMU 드라이버가 이를 비트 연산의 시프트 지수로 사용할 때 정의되지 않은 동작(Undefined Behavior)이 발생합니다.
💡 쉬운 설명
컴퓨터의 성능을 측정하는 기능이 꺼져 있는 상태에서도 실수로 작동을 시도하면서 계산 오류를 일으키는 문제입니다. 이로 인해 시스템의 안정성이 떨어지거나 예상치 못한 오류가 발생할 수 있습니다.
🇺🇸 원문 (English)
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
perf: Avoid undefined behavior from stopping/starting inactive events
Calling pmu->start()/stop() on perf events in PERF_EVENT_STATE_OFF can
leave event->hw.idx at -1. When PMU drivers later attempt to use this
negative index as a shift exponent in bitwise operations, it leads to UBSAN
shift-out-of-bounds reports.
The issue is a logical flaw in how event groups handle throttling when some
members are intentionally disabled. Based on the analysis and the
reproducer provided by Mark Rutland (this issue on both arm64 and x86-64).
The scenario unfolds as follows:
1. A group leader event is configured with a very aggressive sampling
period (e.g., sample_period = 1). This causes frequent interrupts and
triggers the throttling mechanism.
2. A child event in the same group is created in a disabled state
(.disabled = 1). This event remains in PERF_EVENT_STATE_OFF.
Since it hasn't been scheduled onto the PMU, its event->hw.idx remains
initialized at -1.
3. When throttling occurs, perf_event_throttle_group() and later
perf_event_unthrottle_group() iterate through all siblings, including
the disabled child event.
4. perf_event_throttle()/unthrottle() are called on this inactive child
event, which then call event->pmu->start()/stop().
5. The PMU driver receives the event with hw.idx == -1 and attempts to
use it as a shift exponent. e.g., in macros like PMCNTENSET(idx),
leading to the UBSAN report.
The throttling mechanism attempts to start/stop events that are not
actively scheduled on the hardware.
Move the state check into perf_event_throttle()/perf_event_unthrottle() so
that inactive events are skipped entirely. This ensures only active events
with a valid hw.idx are processed, preventing undefined behavior and
silencing UBSAN warnings. The corrected check ensures true before
proceeding with PMU operations.
The problem can be reproduced with the syzkaller reproducer:
📍 영향받는 시스템
Linux kernel (arm64 및 x86-64 아키텍처 포함)
⚔️ 공격 벡터
로컬 사용자가 특수하게 구성된 perf 이벤트를 생성하여 커널의 비트 연산 오류를 유도함
🛡️ 대응 방법
perf_event_throttle/unthrottle 함수 내에 상태 체크 로직을 추가하여 비활성 이벤트가 PMU 작업을 수행하지 않도록 커널 패치 적용
🔧 검증 코드
출력된 커널 버전이 해당 취약점이 수정된 최신 보안 패치 버전인지 확인