In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
tick/nohz: unexport __init-annotated tick_nohz_full_setup()
EXPORT_SYMBOL and __init is a bad combination because the .init.text
section is freed up after the initialization. Hence, modules cannot
use symbols annotated __init. The access to a freed symbol may end up
with kernel panic.
modpost used to detect it, but it had been broken for a decade.
Commit 28438794aba4 ("modpost: fix section mismatch check for exported
init/exit sections") fixed it so modpost started to warn it again, then
this showed up:
MODPOST vmlinux.symvers
WARNING: modpost: vmlinux.o(___ksymtab_gpl+tick_nohz_full_setup+0x0): Section mismatch in reference from the variable __ksymtab_tick_nohz_full_setup to the function .init.text:tick_nohz_full_setup()
The symbol tick_nohz_full_setup is exported and annotated __init
Fix this by removing the __init annotation of tick_nohz_full_setup or drop the export.
Drop the export because tick_nohz_full_setup() is only called from the
built-in code in kernel/sched/isolation.c.
Published: 2025-02-26Modified: 2025-10-24
CVSS 3.xMEDIUM 5.5
CVSS:3.x/CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H