CVE-2024-44948

x86/mtrr: Check if fixed MTRRs exist before saving them

Published Sep 4, 2024 CVSS 3.1 · 5.5 Medium EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

x86/mtrr: Check if fixed MTRRs exist before saving them

MTRRs have an obsolete fixed variant for fine grained caching control
of the 640K-1MB region that uses separate MSRs. This fixed variant has
a separate capability bit in the MTRR capability MSR.

So far all x86 CPUs which support MTRR have this separate bit set, so it
went unnoticed that mtrr_save_state() does not check the capability bit
before accessing the fixed MTRR MSRs.

Though on a CPU that does not support the fixed MTRR capability this
results in a #GP. The #GP itself is harmless because the RDMSR fault is
handled gracefully, but results in a WARN_ON().

Add the missing capability check to prevent this.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

Source ID Title
Debian DLA Debian DLA DLA-3912-1 linux security update
Debian DLA Debian DLA DLA-4008-1 linux-6.1 security update
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7088-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7088-2 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7088-3 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7088-4 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7088-5 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7100-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7100-2 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7119-1 Linux kernel (IoT) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7123-1 Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7144-1 Linux kernel (Intel IoTG) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7154-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7155-1 Linux kernel (NVIDIA) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7156-1 Linux kernel (GKE) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7154-2 Linux kernel (HWE) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7194-1 Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-7196-1 Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses NVD-CWE-noinfo
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.11:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics epss

{'score': 0.0021}

epss

{'score': 0.00161}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics epss

{'score': 0.00194}

epss

{'score': 0.0021}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-754
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

threat_severity

Moderate

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: x86/mtrr: Check if fixed MTRRs exist before saving them MTRRs have an obsolete fixed variant for fine grained caching control of the 640K-1MB region that uses separate MSRs. This fixed variant has a separate capability bit in the MTRR capability MSR. So far all x86 CPUs which support MTRR have this separate bit set, so it went unnoticed that mtrr_save_state() does not check the capability bit before accessing the fixed MTRR MSRs. Though on a CPU that does not support the fixed MTRR capability this results in a #GP. The #GP itself is harmless because the RDMSR fault is handled gracefully, but results in a WARN_ON(). Add the missing capability check to prevent this.
Title x86/mtrr: Check if fixed MTRRs exist before saving them
References
Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
Linux
Published
Updated
Oct 15, 2026, 12:49 AM
Reserved
Aug 21, 2024, 5:34 AM
Status
Modified
Published
Sep 4, 2024, 7:15 PM
Modified
Oct 15, 2026, 1:18 AM
Severity
Moderate
Public date
Sep 4, 2024, 12:00 AM