Overview

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

fs/fcntl: fix SOFTIRQ-unsafe lock order in fasync signaling

A SOFTIRQ-safe to SOFTIRQ-unsafe lock order deadlock can occur in send_sigio() and send_sigurg() when a process group receives a signal.

When FASYNC is configured for a process group (PIDTYPE_PGID), both functions use read_lock(&tasklist_lock) to traverse the task list. However, they are frequently called from softirq context:

• send_sigio() via input_inject_event -> kill_fasync
• send_sigurg() via tcp_check_urg -> sk_send_sigurg (NET_RX_SOFTIRQ)

The deadlock is caused by the rwlock writer fairness mechanism:

1. CPU 0 (process context) holds read_lock(&tasklist_lock) in do_wait().
2. CPU 1 (process context) attempts write_lock(&tasklist_lock) in fork() or exit() and spins, which blocks all new readers.
3. CPU 0 is interrupted by a softirq (e.g., TCP URG packet reception).
4. The softirq calls send_sigurg() and attempts to acquire read_lock(&tasklist_lock), deadlocking because CPU 1 is waiting.

Since PID hashing and do_each_pid_task() traversals are already RCU-protected, the read_lock on tasklist_lock is no longer strictly required for safe traversal. Fix this by replacing tasklist_lock with rcu_read_lock(), aligning the process group signaling path with the single-PID path. This also mitigates a potential remote denial of service vector via TCP URG packets.

Lockdep splat:

WARNING: SOFTIRQ-safe -> SOFTIRQ-unsafe lock order detected [...] Chain exists of: &dev->event_lock --> &f_owner->lock --> tasklist_lock

Possible interrupt unsafe locking scenario: CPU0 CPU1 ---- ---- lock(tasklist_lock); local_irq_disable(); lock(&dev->event_lock); lock(&f_owner->lock); <Interrupt> lock(&dev->event_lock);

*** DEADLOCK ***

Affected

• linux_kernel >= 2.6.12.1, < 5.10.259
• linux_kernel >= 5.11, < 5.15.210
• linux_kernel >= 5.16, < 6.1.176
• linux_kernel >= 6.2, < 6.6.143
• linux_kernel >= 6.7, < 6.12.94
• linux_kernel >= 6.13, < 6.18.36
• linux_kernel >= 6.19, < 7.0.13
• linux_kernel >= 7.1, < 7.1.1
• linux_kernel = 2.6.12

Remediation

Upgrade past the affected range:

• linux_kernel 7.1.1