In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: iommu/vt-d: Fix race condition during PASID entry replacement The Intel VT-d PASID table entry is 512 bits (64 bytes)

Overview

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

iommu/vt-d: Fix race condition during PASID entry replacement

The Intel VT-d PASID table entry is 512 bits (64 bytes). When replacing an active PASID entry (e.g., during domain replacement), the current implementation calculates a new entry on the stack and copies it to the table using a single structure assignment.

    struct pasid_entry *pte, new_pte;

    pte = intel_pasid_get_entry(dev, pasid);
    pasid_pte_config_first_level(iommu, &new_pte, ...);
    *pte = new_pte;

Because the hardware may fetch the 512-bit PASID entry in multiple 128-bit chunks, updating the entire entry while it is active (Present bit set) risks a "torn" read. In this scenario, the IOMMU hardware could observe an inconsistent state — partially new data and partially old data — leading to unpredictable behavior or spurious faults.

Fix this by removing the unsafe "replace" helpers and following the "clear-then-update" flow, which ensures the Present bit is cleared and the required invalidation handshake is completed before the new configuration is applied.

Affected

• linux_kernel >= 6.13, < 6.19.4

Remediation

Upgrade past the affected range:

• linux_kernel 6.19.4