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

powerpc/irq: Fix missing r2 clobber in PCREL inline assembly

In CONFIG_PPC_KERNEL_PCREL mode, r2 is no longer reserved for the TOC
pointer and is available as a caller-saved register [0].

Both call_do_irq() and call_do_softirq() use inline assembly to call
functions with stack switching, but fail to list r2 in their clobber
lists. This causes the compiler to assume r2 is preserved across these
calls, leading to register corruption when the called functions
(__do_irq and __do_softirq) clobber r2.

As a result of this kernel crash during interrupt handling is seen and
the kernel fails to boot:

BUG: Unable to handle kernel data access on write at 0xc000000404697638
Faulting instruction address: 0xc0000000000181ec
Oops: Kernel access of bad area, sig: 11 [#1]
NIP [c0000000000181ec] __do_IRQ+0x6c/0xc0

With older GCC, the compiler would conservatively allocate
callee-saved registers (like r31) for values spanning function calls,
accidentally avoiding the bug:

<__do_IRQ>:
00 00 00 60 nop
a6 02 08 7c mflr r0
f8 ff e1 fb std r31,-8(r1)
f0 ff c1 fb std r30,-16(r1)
2d 03 10 06 pla r31,53297316

...

3d e8 ff 4b bl c0000000000165ac <__do_irq>
00 00 21 e8 ld r1,0(r1)
28 00 4d e9 ld r10,40(r13)
40 00 21 38 addi r1,r1,64
2a f9 aa 7f stdx r29,r10,r31

With newer GCC 14, the compiler uses r2 for such values, exposing the
missing clobber specification:

<__do_IRQ>:
00 00 00 60 nop
a6 02 08 7c mflr r0
f0 ff c1 fb std r30,-16(r1)
f8 ff e1 fb std r31,-8(r1)
29 02 10 06 pla r2,36252592 # c0000000022aadc0 <__irq_regs>

...

85 dc ff 4b bl c000000000015ee0 <__do_irq>
00 00 21 e8 ld r1,0(r1)
28 00 2d e9 ld r9,40(r13)
30 00 21 38 addi r1,r1,48
2a 11 c9 7f stdx r30,r9,r2

Fix this by adding r2 to the clobber list for both call_do_irq() and
call_do_softirq() when CONFIG_PPC_KERNEL_PCREL is enabled.

[0]: https://www.mail-archive.com/gcc-patches@gcc.gnu.org/msg313226.html
Published: 2026-09-24
Score: n/a
EPSS: n/a
KEV: No
AI Analysis

Analysis and contextual insights are available on OpenCVE Cloud.

Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

Additional remediation guidance may be available on OpenCVE Cloud.

Tracking

Sign in to view the affected projects.

Advisories

No advisories yet.

History

Thu, 24 Sep 2026 16:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: powerpc/irq: Fix missing r2 clobber in PCREL inline assembly In CONFIG_PPC_KERNEL_PCREL mode, r2 is no longer reserved for the TOC pointer and is available as a caller-saved register [0]. Both call_do_irq() and call_do_softirq() use inline assembly to call functions with stack switching, but fail to list r2 in their clobber lists. This causes the compiler to assume r2 is preserved across these calls, leading to register corruption when the called functions (__do_irq and __do_softirq) clobber r2. As a result of this kernel crash during interrupt handling is seen and the kernel fails to boot: BUG: Unable to handle kernel data access on write at 0xc000000404697638 Faulting instruction address: 0xc0000000000181ec Oops: Kernel access of bad area, sig: 11 [#1] NIP [c0000000000181ec] __do_IRQ+0x6c/0xc0 With older GCC, the compiler would conservatively allocate callee-saved registers (like r31) for values spanning function calls, accidentally avoiding the bug: <__do_IRQ>: 00 00 00 60 nop a6 02 08 7c mflr r0 f8 ff e1 fb std r31,-8(r1) f0 ff c1 fb std r30,-16(r1) 2d 03 10 06 pla r31,53297316 ... 3d e8 ff 4b bl c0000000000165ac <__do_irq> 00 00 21 e8 ld r1,0(r1) 28 00 4d e9 ld r10,40(r13) 40 00 21 38 addi r1,r1,64 2a f9 aa 7f stdx r29,r10,r31 With newer GCC 14, the compiler uses r2 for such values, exposing the missing clobber specification: <__do_IRQ>: 00 00 00 60 nop a6 02 08 7c mflr r0 f0 ff c1 fb std r30,-16(r1) f8 ff e1 fb std r31,-8(r1) 29 02 10 06 pla r2,36252592 # c0000000022aadc0 <__irq_regs> ... 85 dc ff 4b bl c000000000015ee0 <__do_irq> 00 00 21 e8 ld r1,0(r1) 28 00 2d e9 ld r9,40(r13) 30 00 21 38 addi r1,r1,48 2a 11 c9 7f stdx r30,r9,r2 Fix this by adding r2 to the clobber list for both call_do_irq() and call_do_softirq() when CONFIG_PPC_KERNEL_PCREL is enabled. [0]: https://www.mail-archive.com/gcc-patches@gcc.gnu.org/msg313226.html
Title powerpc/irq: Fix missing r2 clobber in PCREL inline assembly
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
References

Subscriptions

Linux Linux Kernel
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Linux

Published:

Updated: 2026-09-24T15:51:45.772Z

Reserved: 2026-09-17T16:02:15.097Z

Link: CVE-2026-93259

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-09-24T16:17:22.530

Modified: 2026-09-24T16:17:22.530

Link: CVE-2026-93259

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

No data.

Weaknesses

No weakness.