mm/vmalloc: prevent RCU stalls in kasan_release_vmalloc_node

Summary

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/vmalloc: prevent RCU stalls in kasan_release_vmalloc_node When CONFIG_PAGE_OWNER is enabled, freeing KASAN shadow pages during vmalloc cleanup triggers expensive stack unwinding that acquires RCU read locks. Processing a large purge_list without rescheduling can cause the task to hold CPU for extended periods (10+ seconds), leading to RCU stalls and potential OOM conditions. The issue manifests in purge_vmap_node() -> kasan_release_vmalloc_node() where iterating through hundreds or thousands of vmap_area entries and freeing their associated shadow pages causes: rcu: INFO: rcu_preempt detected stalls on CPUs/tasks: rcu: Tasks blocked on level-0 rcu_node (CPUs 0-1): P6229/1:b..l ... task:kworker/0:17 state:R running task stack:28840 pid:6229 ... kasan_release_vmalloc_node+0x1ba/0xad0 mm/vmalloc.c:2299 purge_vmap_node+0x1ba/0xad0 mm/vmalloc.c:2299 Each call to kasan_release_vmalloc() can free many pages, and with page_owner tracking, each free triggers save_stack() which performs stack unwinding under RCU read lock. Without yielding, this creates an unbounded RCU critical section. Add periodic cond_resched() calls within the loop to allow: • RCU grace periods to complete • Other tasks to run • Scheduler to preempt when needed The fix uses need_resched() for immediate response under load, with a batch count of 32 as a guaranteed upper bound to prevent worst-case stalls even under light load.

Timeline

1. May 8, 2026, 1:11 PM UTCCVE published
2. May 11, 2026, 10:21 PM UTCRecord last updated

Affected versions

• Linux Linux

  Version range not reported

• Linux Linux

  6.9

References 4