Re: [PATCH net] ice: fix metadata_dst refcount handling on representor teardown

[Simon Horman <horms@kernel.org>]

On Sun, Aug 16, 2026 at 01:55:10PM +0000, Tristan Madani wrote:
> From: Tristan Madani <tristan@talencesecurity.com>
> 
> ice_eswitch_release_repr() uses metadata_dst_free() to release the
> representor's metadata_dst.  metadata_dst_free() directly frees the
> underlying memory without checking the dst_entry refcount.
> 
> When ice_eswitch_port_start_xmit() processes a packet, it takes a
> reference via dst_hold() and attaches the metadata_dst to the skb.
> If the representor is torn down while packets are still queued on
> the lower device (e.g. in a qdisc), the metadata_dst is freed while
> references are still held.
> 
> Use dst_release() instead, which correctly decrements the refcount
> and only frees the object when all references are dropped.  The dst
> subsystem already handles metadata_dst cleanup in dst_destroy() when
> DST_METADATA is set.
> 
> Other drivers sharing this pattern (nfp, airoha, bnxt) already use
> dst_release() for their metadata_dst lifecycle.
> 
> Fixes: f5396b8a663f7 ("ice: switchdev slow path")
> Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org
> Signed-off-by: Tristan Madani <tristan@talencesecurity.com>

Reviewed-by: Simon Horman <horms@kernel.org>