Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
spi: spidev: fix lock inversion between spi_lock and buf_lock
The spidev driver previously used two mutexes, spi_lock and buf_lock, but acquired them in different orders depending on the code path:
write()/read(): buf_lock -> spi_lock ioctl(): spi_lock -> buf_lock
This AB-BA locking pattern triggers lockdep warnings and can cause real deadlocks:
WARNING: possible circular locking dependency detected spidev_ioctl() -> mutex_lock(&spidev->buf_lock) spidev_sync_write() -> mutex_lock(&spidev->spi_lock) *** DEADLOCK ***
The issue is reproducible with a simple userspace program that performs write() and SPI_IOC_WR_MAX_SPEED_HZ ioctl() calls from separate threads on the same spidev file descriptor.
Fix this by simplifying the locking model and removing the lock inversion entirely. spidev_sync() no longer performs any locking, and all callers serialize access using spi_lock.
buf_lock is removed since its functionality is fully covered by spi_lock, eliminating the possibility of lock ordering issues.
This removes the lock inversion and prevents deadlocks without changing userspace ABI or behaviour.
Metrics
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HWeakness enumeration
Affected software
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | >= a720416d94634068951773cb9e9d6f1b73769e5b, < fabfed1afe273717ea33b8aee46b767360edbb80; >= a720416d94634068951773cb9e9d6f1b73769e5b, < f8431b8672231d378b03176fe74c95adfd3522cf; >= a720416d94634068951773cb9e9d6f1b73769e5b, < e341e18215030af2136836b78508e0d798916df7; >= a720416d94634068951773cb9e9d6f1b73769e5b, < 41ccfac7d302968a4f32b5f7b012d066c5f5cdf8; >= a720416d94634068951773cb9e9d6f1b73769e5b, < 40534d19ed2afb880ecf202dab26a8e7a5808d16 |
| Linux | Linux | 6.2 |
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/40534d19ed2afb880ecf202dab26a8e7a5808d16Patch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/41ccfac7d302968a4f32b5f7b012d066c5f5cdf8Patch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e341e18215030af2136836b78508e0d798916df7Patch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f8431b8672231d378b03176fe74c95adfd3522cfPatch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fabfed1afe273717ea33b8aee46b767360edbb80
Timeline
- Published
- May 8, 2026
- Last modified
- Nov 11, 2026
- NVD status
- Modified