Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
powerpc/syscall: Fix syscall skip handling for seccomp and ptrace
After enabling GENERIC_ENTRY on PowerPC, syscall_enter_from_user_mode()
returns -1 as a sentinel to signal that seccomp or ptrace has intercepted
the syscall and already set a return value via syscall_set_return_value().
system_call_exception() was not handling this sentinel, and since -1UL
is >= NR_syscalls, the code fell into the out-of-range path and returned
-ENOSYS, overwriting the errno already placed in regs->gpr[3].
The naive fix of checking r0 == -1L before the NR_syscalls bounds check
is ambiguous: a user legitimately calling syscall(-1) also produces r0 ==
-1L, and a tracer intercepting such a call would have its injected return
value silently discarded.
Fix this by introducing a thread flag that is set whenever
syscall_set_return_value() explicitly updates the return value. In
system_call_exception(), check and clear this flag before dispatching
the syscall, and return the preset value directly when it is present.
This ensures that an explicitly supplied return value always suppresses
syscall execution, regardless of the syscall number.
This handles all seccomp actions correctly:
- SECCOMP_RET_ERRNO, SECCOMP_RET_TRACE (no tracer), SECCOMP_RET_USER_NOTIF:
all call syscall_set_return_value(), flag is set, injected value returned.
- SECCOMP_RET_TRAP, SECCOMP_RET_KILL: call syscall_rollback() and deliver
a signal; flag is not set, but the process is dying so the return value
is irrelevant.
The fix covers both ppc32 and ppc64 with no #ifdefs.
powerpc/syscall: Fix syscall skip handling for seccomp and ptrace
After enabling GENERIC_ENTRY on PowerPC, syscall_enter_from_user_mode()
returns -1 as a sentinel to signal that seccomp or ptrace has intercepted
the syscall and already set a return value via syscall_set_return_value().
system_call_exception() was not handling this sentinel, and since -1UL
is >= NR_syscalls, the code fell into the out-of-range path and returned
-ENOSYS, overwriting the errno already placed in regs->gpr[3].
The naive fix of checking r0 == -1L before the NR_syscalls bounds check
is ambiguous: a user legitimately calling syscall(-1) also produces r0 ==
-1L, and a tracer intercepting such a call would have its injected return
value silently discarded.
Fix this by introducing a thread flag that is set whenever
syscall_set_return_value() explicitly updates the return value. In
system_call_exception(), check and clear this flag before dispatching
the syscall, and return the preset value directly when it is present.
This ensures that an explicitly supplied return value always suppresses
syscall execution, regardless of the syscall number.
This handles all seccomp actions correctly:
- SECCOMP_RET_ERRNO, SECCOMP_RET_TRACE (no tracer), SECCOMP_RET_USER_NOTIF:
all call syscall_set_return_value(), flag is set, injected value returned.
- SECCOMP_RET_TRAP, SECCOMP_RET_KILL: call syscall_rollback() and deliver
a signal; flag is not set, but the process is dying so the return value
is irrelevant.
The fix covers both ppc32 and ppc64 with no #ifdefs.
Published:
2026-09-17
Score:
n/a
EPSS:
n/a
KEV:
No
Impact:
n/a
Action:
n/a
Analysis and contextual insights are available on OpenCVE Cloud.
Remediation
No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.
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Tracking
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Advisories
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References
History
Thu, 17 Sep 2026 16:30:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: powerpc/syscall: Fix syscall skip handling for seccomp and ptrace After enabling GENERIC_ENTRY on PowerPC, syscall_enter_from_user_mode() returns -1 as a sentinel to signal that seccomp or ptrace has intercepted the syscall and already set a return value via syscall_set_return_value(). system_call_exception() was not handling this sentinel, and since -1UL is >= NR_syscalls, the code fell into the out-of-range path and returned -ENOSYS, overwriting the errno already placed in regs->gpr[3]. The naive fix of checking r0 == -1L before the NR_syscalls bounds check is ambiguous: a user legitimately calling syscall(-1) also produces r0 == -1L, and a tracer intercepting such a call would have its injected return value silently discarded. Fix this by introducing a thread flag that is set whenever syscall_set_return_value() explicitly updates the return value. In system_call_exception(), check and clear this flag before dispatching the syscall, and return the preset value directly when it is present. This ensures that an explicitly supplied return value always suppresses syscall execution, regardless of the syscall number. This handles all seccomp actions correctly: - SECCOMP_RET_ERRNO, SECCOMP_RET_TRACE (no tracer), SECCOMP_RET_USER_NOTIF: all call syscall_set_return_value(), flag is set, injected value returned. - SECCOMP_RET_TRAP, SECCOMP_RET_KILL: call syscall_rollback() and deliver a signal; flag is not set, but the process is dying so the return value is irrelevant. The fix covers both ppc32 and ppc64 with no #ifdefs. | |
| Title | powerpc/syscall: Fix syscall skip handling for seccomp and ptrace | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-09-17T16:08:50.990Z
Reserved: 2026-09-11T19:38:34.804Z
Link: CVE-2026-90339
No data.
Status : Received
Published: 2026-09-17T17:17:32.520
Modified: 2026-09-17T17:17:32.520
Link: CVE-2026-90339
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
Weaknesses
No weakness.
