Linux Kernel Soft Lockup Vulnerability in rtw89 WiFi Driver Management Role Calculation

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's WiFi rtw89 driver can lead to a soft lockup, where the CPU becomes unresponsive for an extended period. This issue occurs in the 'rtw89_entity_recalc_mgnt_roles()' function, during a process that normalizes and re-orders a list based on specific patterns. The vulnerability arises because the function fails to properly exit an outer loop after finding a matching entry, allowing the process to continue unnecessarily. While this typically does not cause a lockup, certain conditions can trigger the issue, causing the CPU to be stuck for a significant time. The problem has been observed in kernel logs, indicating a soft lockup scenario where a process was halted for 26 seconds.

Impact

Exploitation of this vulnerability leads to a soft lockup, causing the CPU to become unresponsive for an extended period.