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

rcu: Fix rcu_read_unlock() deadloop due to IRQ work

During rcu_read_unlock_special(), if this happens during irq_exit(), we
can lockup if an IPI is issued. This is because the IPI itself triggers
the irq_exit() path causing a recursive lock up.

This is precisely what Xiongfeng found when invoking a BPF program on
the trace_tick_stop() tracepoint As shown in the trace below. Fix by
managing the irq_work state correctly.

irq_exit()
  __irq_exit_rcu()
    /* in_hardirq() returns false after this */
    preempt_count_sub(HARDIRQ_OFFSET)
    tick_irq_exit()
      tick_nohz_irq_exit()
	    tick_nohz_stop_sched_tick()
	      trace_tick_stop()  /* a bpf prog is hooked on this trace point */
		   __bpf_trace_tick_stop()
		      bpf_trace_run2()
			    rcu_read_unlock_special()
                              /* will send a IPI to itself */
			      irq_work_queue_on(&rdp->defer_qs_iw, rdp->cpu);

A simple reproducer can also be obtained by doing the following in
tick_irq_exit(). It will hang on boot without the patch:

  static inline void tick_irq_exit(void)
  {
 +	rcu_read_lock();
 +	WRITE_ONCE(current->rcu_read_unlock_special.b.need_qs, true);
 +	rcu_read_unlock();
 +

[neeraj: Apply Frederic's suggested fix for PREEMPT_RT]