Unity Linux 20.1070a Security Update: kernel (UTSA-2025-387298)

high Nessus Plugin ID 267274

Synopsis

The Unity Linux host is missing one or more security updates.

Description

The Unity Linux 20 host has a package installed that is affected by a vulnerability as referenced in the UTSA-2025-387298 advisory.

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

KVM: Always flush async #PF workqueue when vCPU is being destroyed

Always flush the per-vCPU async #PF workqueue when a vCPU is clearing its completion queue, e.g. when a VM and all its vCPUs is being destroyed.
KVM must ensure that none of its workqueue callbacks is running when the last reference to the KVM _module_ is put. Gifting a reference to the associated VM prevents the workqueue callback from dereferencing freed vCPU/VM memory, but does not prevent the KVM module from being unloaded before the callback completes.

Drop the misguided VM refcount gifting, as calling kvm_put_kvm() from async_pf_execute() if kvm_put_kvm() flushes the async #PF workqueue will result in deadlock. async_pf_execute() can't return until kvm_put_kvm() finishes, and kvm_put_kvm() can't return until async_pf_execute() finishes:

WARNING: CPU: 8 PID: 251 at virt/kvm/kvm_main.c:1435 kvm_put_kvm+0x2d/0x320 [kvm] Modules linked in: vhost_net vhost vhost_iotlb tap kvm_intel kvm irqbypass CPU: 8 PID: 251 Comm: kworker/8:1 Tainted: G W 6.6.0-rc1-e7af8d17224a-x86/gmem-vm #119 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 0.0.0 02/06/2015 Workqueue: events async_pf_execute [kvm] RIP: 0010:kvm_put_kvm+0x2d/0x320 [kvm] Call Trace:
<TASK> async_pf_execute+0x198/0x260 [kvm] process_one_work+0x145/0x2d0 worker_thread+0x27e/0x3a0 kthread+0xba/0xe0 ret_from_fork+0x2d/0x50 ret_from_fork_asm+0x11/0x20 </TASK>
---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- INFO: task kworker/8:1:251 blocked for more than 120 seconds.
Tainted: G W 6.6.0-rc1-e7af8d17224a-x86/gmem-vm #119 echo 0 > /proc/sys/kernel/hung_task_timeout_secs disables this message.
task:kworker/8:1 state:D stack:0 pid:251 ppid:2 flags:0x00004000 Workqueue: events async_pf_execute [kvm] Call Trace:
<TASK>
__schedule+0x33f/0xa40 schedule+0x53/0xc0 schedule_timeout+0x12a/0x140
__wait_for_common+0x8d/0x1d0
__flush_work.isra.0+0x19f/0x2c0 kvm_clear_async_pf_completion_queue+0x129/0x190 [kvm] kvm_arch_destroy_vm+0x78/0x1b0 [kvm] kvm_put_kvm+0x1c1/0x320 [kvm] async_pf_execute+0x198/0x260 [kvm] process_one_work+0x145/0x2d0 worker_thread+0x27e/0x3a0 kthread+0xba/0xe0 ret_from_fork+0x2d/0x50 ret_from_fork_asm+0x11/0x20 </TASK>

If kvm_clear_async_pf_completion_queue() actually flushes the workqueue, then there's no need to gift async_pf_execute() a reference because all invocations of async_pf_execute() will be forced to complete before the vCPU and its VM are destroyed/freed. And that in turn fixes the module unloading bug as __fput() won't do module_put() on the last vCPU reference until the vCPU has been freed, e.g. if closing the vCPU file also puts the last reference to the KVM module.

Note that kvm_check_async_pf_completion() may also take the work item off the completion queue and so also needs to flush the work queue, as the work will not be seen by kvm_clear_async_pf_completion_queue(). Waiting on the workqueue could theoretically delay a vCPU due to waiting for the work to complete, but that's a very, very small chance, and likely a very small delay. kvm_arch_async_page_present_queued() unconditionally makes a new request, i.e. will effectively delay entering the guest, so the remaining work is really just:

trace_kvm_async_pf_completed(addr, cr2_or_gpa);

__kvm_vcpu_wake_up(vcpu);

mmput(mm);

and mmput() can't drop the last reference to the page tables if the vCPU is still alive, i.e. the vCPU won't get stuck tearing down page tables.

Add a helper to do the flushing, specifically to deal with wakeup all work items, as they aren't actually work items, i.e. are never placed in a workqueue. Trying to flush a bogus workqueue entry rightly makes
__flush_work() complain (kudos to whoever added that sanity check).

Note, commit 5f6de5cbebee (KVM: Prevent module exit until al
---truncated---

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the Unity Linux security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

Solution

Update the affected kernel package.

Plugin Details

Severity: High

ID: 267274

File Name: unity_linux_UTSA-2025-387298.nasl

Version: 1.2

Type: local

Family: Unity Linux Local Security Checks

Published: 10/7/2025

Updated: 10/15/2025

Supported Sensors: Nessus

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Medium

Score: 6.7

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: Medium

Base Score: 4.6

Temporal Score: 3.4

Vector: CVSS2#AV:L/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:N/A:C

CVSS Score Source: CVE-2024-26976

CVSS v3

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 7

Temporal Score: 6.1

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Temporal Vector: CVSS:3.0/E:U/RL:O/RC:C

Vulnerability Information

Required KB Items: Host/local_checks_enabled, Host/cpu, Host/UOS-Server/release, Host/UOS-Server/rpm-list

Exploit Ease: No known exploits are available

Patch Publication Date: 7/8/2025

Vulnerability Publication Date: 5/1/2024

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2024-26976

Detections

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