Linux Kernel up to 6.11.9 move_page_tables orig_old_start comparison

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.11.9. Affected by this vulnerability is the function move_page_tables. Performing a manipulation of the argument orig_old_start results in comparison. This vulnerability is cataloged as CVE-2024-53111. There is no exploit available. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.11.9. It has been classified as problematic. This affects the function move_page_tables. The manipulation of the argument orig_old_start with an unknown input leads to a comparison vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-697. The product compares two entities in a security-relevant context, but the comparison is incorrect, which may lead to resultant weaknesses. The impact remains unknown. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/mremap: fix address wraparound in move_page_tables() On 32-bit platforms, it is possible for the expression `len + old_addr < old_end` to be false-positive if `len + old_addr` wraps around. `old_addr` is the cursor in the old range up to which page table entries have been moved; so if the operation succeeded, `old_addr` is the *end* of the old region, and adding `len` to it can wrap. The overflow causes mremap() to mistakenly believe that PTEs have been copied; the consequence is that mremap() bails out, but doesn't move the PTEs back before the new VMA is unmapped, causing anonymous pages in the region to be lost. So basically if userspace tries to mremap() a private-anon region and hits this bug, mremap() will return an error and the private-anon region's contents appear to have been zeroed. The idea of this check is that `old_end - len` is the original start address, and writing the check that way also makes it easier to read; so fix the check by rearranging the comparison accordingly. (An alternate fix would be to refactor this function by introducing an "orig_old_start" variable or such.) Tested in a VM with a 32-bit X86 kernel; without the patch: ``` user@horn:~/big_mremap$ cat test.c #define _GNU_SOURCE #include #include #include #include #define ADDR1 ((void*)0x60000000) #define ADDR2 ((void*)0x10000000) #define SIZE 0x50000000uL int main(void) { unsigned char *p1 = mmap(ADDR1, SIZE, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_ANONYMOUS|MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED_NOREPLACE, -1, 0); if (p1 == MAP_FAILED) err(1, "mmap 1"); unsigned char *p2 = mmap(ADDR2, SIZE, PROT_NONE, MAP_ANONYMOUS|MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED_NOREPLACE, -1, 0); if (p2 == MAP_FAILED) err(1, "mmap 2"); *p1 = 0x41; printf("first char is 0x%02hhx\n", *p1); unsigned char *p3 = mremap(p1, SIZE, SIZE, MREMAP_MAYMOVE|MREMAP_FIXED, p2); if (p3 == MAP_FAILED) { printf("mremap() failed; first char is 0x%02hhx\n", *p1); } else { printf("mremap() succeeded; first char is 0x%02hhx\n", *p3); } } user@horn:~/big_mremap$ gcc -static -o test test.c user@horn:~/big_mremap$ setarch -R ./test first char is 0x41 mremap() failed; first char is 0x00 ``` With the patch: ``` user@horn:~/big_mremap$ setarch -R ./test first char is 0x41 mremap() succeeded; first char is 0x41 ```

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2024-53111 since 11/19/2024. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 02/14/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 214250 (SUSE SLES15 / openSUSE 15 Security Update : kernel (SUSE-SU-2025:0117-1)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.11.10 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 909543dc279a/a4a282daf1a1 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (214250) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2024-3575). Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Dell NetWorker
• Dell Avamar
• IBM QRadar SIEM
• IBM DataPower Gateway
• Open Source Linux Kernel

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.11.0
• 6.11.1
• 6.11.2
• 6.11.3
• 6.11.4
• 6.11.5
• 6.11.6
• 6.11.7
• 6.11.8
• 6.11.9

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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