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Fencer Vulns
medium 5.5

CVE-2024-57884 json

mm: vmscan: account for free pages to prevent infinite Loop in throttle_direct_reclaim()

published 2025-01-15 21 mo ago modified 2026-10-15 25 d ago also EUVD-2024-53787

cvss
5.5
version 3.1, NVD
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
0.2%
EPSS 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 12%
public exploits
0
none known

Summary

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

mm: vmscan: account for free pages to prevent infinite Loop in throttle_direct_reclaim()

The task sometimes continues looping in throttle_direct_reclaim() because allow_direct_reclaim(pgdat) keeps returning false.

#0 [ffff80002cb6f8d0] __switch_to at ffff8000080095ac #1 [ffff80002cb6f900] __schedule at ffff800008abbd1c #2 [ffff80002cb6f990] schedule at ffff800008abc50c #3 [ffff80002cb6f9b0] throttle_direct_reclaim at ffff800008273550 #4 [ffff80002cb6fa20] try_to_free_pages at ffff800008277b68 #5 [ffff80002cb6fae0] __alloc_pages_nodemask at ffff8000082c4660 #6 [ffff80002cb6fc50] alloc_pages_vma at ffff8000082e4a98 #7 [ffff80002cb6fca0] do_anonymous_page at ffff80000829f5a8 #8 [ffff80002cb6fce0] __handle_mm_fault at ffff8000082a5974 #9 [ffff80002cb6fd90] handle_mm_fault at ffff8000082a5bd4

At this point, the pgdat contains the following two zones:

NODE: 4 ZONE: 0 ADDR: ffff00817fffe540 NAME: "DMA32" SIZE: 20480 MIN/LOW/HIGH: 11/28/45 VM_STAT: NR_FREE_PAGES: 359 NR_ZONE_INACTIVE_ANON: 18813 NR_ZONE_ACTIVE_ANON: 0 NR_ZONE_INACTIVE_FILE: 50 NR_ZONE_ACTIVE_FILE: 0 NR_ZONE_UNEVICTABLE: 0 NR_ZONE_WRITE_PENDING: 0 NR_MLOCK: 0 NR_BOUNCE: 0 NR_ZSPAGES: 0 NR_FREE_CMA_PAGES: 0

NODE: 4 ZONE: 1 ADDR: ffff00817fffec00 NAME: "Normal" SIZE: 8454144 PRESENT: 98304 MIN/LOW/HIGH: 68/166/264 VM_STAT: NR_FREE_PAGES: 146 NR_ZONE_INACTIVE_ANON: 94668 NR_ZONE_ACTIVE_ANON: 3 NR_ZONE_INACTIVE_FILE: 735 NR_ZONE_ACTIVE_FILE: 78 NR_ZONE_UNEVICTABLE: 0 NR_ZONE_WRITE_PENDING: 0 NR_MLOCK: 0 NR_BOUNCE: 0 NR_ZSPAGES: 0 NR_FREE_CMA_PAGES: 0

In allow_direct_reclaim(), while processing ZONE_DMA32, the sum of inactive/active file-backed pages calculated in zone_reclaimable_pages() based on the result of zone_page_state_snapshot() is zero.

Additionally, since this system lacks swap, the calculation of inactive/ active anonymous pages is skipped.

crash> p nr_swap_pages nr_swap_pages = $1937 = { counter = 0 }

As a result, ZONE_DMA32 is deemed unreclaimable and skipped, moving on to the processing of the next zone, ZONE_NORMAL, despite ZONE_DMA32 having free pages significantly exceeding the high watermark.

The problem is that the pgdat->kswapd_failures hasn't been incremented.

crash> px ((struct pglist_data *) 0xffff00817fffe540)->kswapd_failures $1935 = 0x0

This is because the node deemed balanced. The node balancing logic in balance_pgdat() evaluates all zones collectively. If one or more zones (e.g., ZONE_DMA32) have enough free pages to meet their watermarks, the entire node is deemed balanced. This causes balance_pgdat() to exit early before incrementing the kswapd_failures, as it considers the overall memory state acceptable, even though some zones (like ZONE_NORMAL) remain under significant pressure.

The patch ensures that zone_reclaimable_pages() includes free pages (NR_FREE_PAGES) in its calculation when no other reclaimable pages are available (e.g., file-backed or anonymous pages). This change prevents zones like ZONE_DMA32, which have sufficient free pages, from being mistakenly deemed unreclaimable. By doing so, the patch ensures proper node balancing, avoids masking pressure on other zones like ZONE_NORMAL, and prevents infinite loops in throttle_direct_reclaim() caused by allow_direct_reclaim(pgdat) repeatedly returning false.

The kernel hangs due to a task stuck in throttle_direct_reclaim(), caused by a node being incorrectly deemed balanced despite pressure in certain zones, such as ZONE_NORMAL. This issue arises from zone_reclaimable_pages ---truncated---

Patch / fix

  • Linux Linux 5.4.289, 5.10.233, 5.15.176, 6.1.124, 6.6.70, 6.12.9, 6.13
  • Siemens SIMATIC S7-1500 CPU 1518-4 PN/DP MFP V3.1.5
  • Siemens SIMATIC S7-1500 CPU 1518F-4 PN/DP MFP V3.1.5
  • Siemens SIPLUS S7-1500 CPU 1518-4 PN/DP MFP V3.1.5
  • linux Debian 12 6.1.124-1
  • linux Debian 14, Debian 13 6.12.9-1

debian advisories DEBIAN-CVE-2024-57884

  • linux Ubuntu 20.04 LTS 5.4.0-211.231
  • linux Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15.0-135.146
  • linux Ubuntu 24.04 LTS 6.8.0-60.63
  • linux-aws Ubuntu 20.04 LTS 5.4.0-1142.152
  • linux-aws Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15.0-1080.87
  • linux-aws Ubuntu 24.04 LTS 6.8.0-1029.31
  • linux-gcp Ubuntu 20.04 LTS 5.4.0-1145.154
  • linux-gcp Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 5.15.0-1079.88

ubuntu advisories UBUNTU-CVE-2024-57884

Ubuntu security data © Canonical Ltd., from https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices via OSV; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. CC BY-SA 4.0

  • kernel RHEL 9 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6
  • rv RHEL 9 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6
  • perf RHEL 9 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6
  • rtla RHEL 9 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6
  • libperf RHEL 9 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6
  • kernel-rt RHEL 9 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6
  • kernel-64k RHEL 9 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6
  • kernel-core RHEL 9 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6

red hat advisories RHSA-2025:6966

  • kernel-rt Linux Micro 6.1, Linux Micro 6.0 6.4.0-25.1
  • kernel-source-rt Linux Micro 6.1, Linux Micro 6.0 6.4.0-25.1
  • kernel-livepatch-MICRO-6-0-RT_Update_5 Linux Micro 6.1, Linux Micro 6.0 1-1.1
  • kernel-source Linux Micro 6.1, Linux Micro 6.0 6.4.0-25.1
  • kernel-default Linux Micro 6.1, Linux Micro 6.0 6.4.0-25.1
  • kernel-kvmsmall Linux Micro 6.1, Linux Micro 6.0 6.4.0-25.1
  • kernel-default-base Linux Micro 6.1, Linux Micro 6.0 6.4.0-24.1.21.4
  • kernel-livepatch-MICRO-6-0_Update_5 Linux Micro 6.1, Linux Micro 6.0 1-1.2

suse advisories SUSE-SU-2025:20166-1SUSE-SU-2025:20249-1SUSE-SU-2025:20165-1SUSE-SU-2025:20248-1SUSE-SU-2025:0565-1SUSE-SU-2025:0564-1

Vendor advisories

What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.

red hat product security vex CVE-2024-57884 updated cvss 5.5

kernel: mm: vmscan: account for free pages to prevent infinite Loop in throttle_direct_reclaim()

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 perf, kernel, python-perf, kernel-kdump, kernel-firmware, kernel-bootwrapper, +1 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 perf, kernel, bpftool, kernel-rt, python-perf, kernel-kdump, +8 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 perf, kernel, bpftool, kernel-rt, kernel-core, kernel-tools, +29 more
    affected: no fix planned “Out of support scope”
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) rv 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, perf 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, rtla 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, python3-perf 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-devel-matched 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-64k-devel-matched 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, +7 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) kernel 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-64k 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-core 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-tools 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-modules 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-64k-core 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, +27 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) libperf 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-debuginfo-common-s390x 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-debuginfo-common-aarch64 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64le 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 9) kernel-rt 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-64k 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-core 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-modules 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-64k-core 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-debug-core 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, +14 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 9) kernel-rt 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-kvm 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-core 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-modules 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-debug-kvm 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-debug-core 5.14.0-570.12.1.el9_6, +6 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2025:6966
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 kernel
    not affected: vulnerable code not present

Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf

Exploit prediction

0.22% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 12% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
NVD 3.1 5.5 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Affected products

  • Linux Linux
  • Siemens SIMATIC S7-1500 CPU 1518-4 PN/DP MFP
  • Siemens SIMATIC S7-1500 CPU 1518F-4 PN/DP MFP
  • Siemens SIPLUS S7-1500 CPU 1518-4 PN/DP MFP

Classification

Weakness
  • CWE-835 Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition
Technology feeds

References

Sources

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.