From: Sasha Levin <sashal@kernel.org>
To: stable@vger.kernel.org
Cc: "Cen Zhang (Microsoft)" <cenzhang@linux.microsoft.com>,
"Dae R. Jeong" <threeearcat@gmail.com>,
AutonomousCodeSecurity@microsoft.com,
Bradley Morgan <brads@mainlining.org>,
"Christian Brauner (Amutable)" <brauner@kernel.org>,
Sasha Levin <sashal@kernel.org>
Subject: [PATCH 5.10.y] watch_queue: Fix note pool publication race in watch_queue_set_size()
Date: Thu, 22 Oct 2026 07:35:00 -0400 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20261022113411.917463-1-sashal@kernel.org> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <2026102127-refocus-parakeet-893f@gregkh>
From: "Cen Zhang (Microsoft)" <cenzhang@linux.microsoft.com>
[ Upstream commit 5e531d62f1f8834faf7a4eed0d41105cf6570a8f ]
There is a race between watch_queue_set_size() and post_one_notification().
watch_queue_set_size() publishes wqueue->notes, notes_bitmap, nr_pages and
nr_notes with plain stores, and post_one_notification() reads them with
plain loads under a different lock, so nothing orders the four stores
against the poster's loads: depending on the build, notes can be stored
last (gcc 14 on x86-64 does this). Since keyctl_watch_key() lets a watch
attach to a queue before it is sized, post_one_notification() can already
be running on another CPU at that moment: it reads nr_notes > 0, passes
its bounds check, and then reads notes while it is still NULL,
dereferencing notes[0].
An unprivileged user triggers this reliably by watching one of its own
keys through a notification pipe and racing ioctl(IOC_WATCH_QUEUE_SET_SIZE)
on that pipe against keyctl(KEYCTL_SETPERM) on the key from another CPU,
triggering:
BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000
RIP: 0010:post_one_notification.isra.0+0xa2/0x1e0
Call Trace:
__post_watch_notification+0x148/0x180
keyctl_setperm_key+0x119/0x130
do_syscall_64+0x108/0x4c0
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f
Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception in interrupt
Fix this by publishing nr_notes last with smp_store_release(), and by
reading it once with smp_load_acquire() in post_one_notification() before
the bitmap and the page array are touched. A poster that observes a
non-zero nr_notes then also observes the pool behind it; one that observes
zero drops the notification as before.
Fixes: c73be61cede5 ("pipe: Add general notification queue support")
Reported-by: Dae R. Jeong <threeearcat@gmail.com>
Closes: https://lore.kernel.org/all/ZT-S8Q7tyutcvu_q@dragonet/
Reported-by: AutonomousCodeSecurity@microsoft.com
Suggested-by: Dae R. Jeong <threeearcat@gmail.com>
Signed-off-by: Cen Zhang (Microsoft) <cenzhang@linux.microsoft.com>
Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20261009224715.46121-1-cenzhang@linux.microsoft.com
Reviewed-by: Bradley Morgan <brads@mainlining.org>
Cc: <stable@vger.kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner (Amutable) <brauner@kernel.org>
[ sashal: retained the existing mask variable when adding nr_notes to the local declaration ]
Signed-off-by: Sasha Levin <sashal@kernel.org>
---
kernel/watch_queue.c | 11 +++++++----
1 file changed, 7 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)
diff --git a/kernel/watch_queue.c b/kernel/watch_queue.c
index 37da8647b4ecb..978c29b1fa427 100644
--- a/kernel/watch_queue.c
+++ b/kernel/watch_queue.c
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ static bool post_one_notification(struct watch_queue *wqueue,
struct pipe_inode_info *pipe = wqueue->pipe;
struct pipe_buffer *buf;
struct page *page;
- unsigned int head, tail, mask, note, offset, len;
+ unsigned int head, tail, mask, note, offset, len, nr_notes;
bool done = false;
if (!pipe)
@@ -116,8 +116,10 @@ static bool post_one_notification(struct watch_queue *wqueue,
if (pipe_full(head, tail, pipe->ring_size))
goto lost;
- note = find_first_bit(wqueue->notes_bitmap, wqueue->nr_notes);
- if (note >= wqueue->nr_notes)
+ /* Pairs with the smp_store_release() in watch_queue_set_size(). */
+ nr_notes = smp_load_acquire(&wqueue->nr_notes);
+ note = find_first_bit(wqueue->notes_bitmap, nr_notes);
+ if (note >= nr_notes)
goto lost;
page = wqueue->notes[note / WATCH_QUEUE_NOTES_PER_PAGE];
@@ -305,7 +307,8 @@ long watch_queue_set_size(struct pipe_inode_info *pipe, unsigned int nr_notes)
wqueue->notes = pages;
wqueue->notes_bitmap = bitmap;
wqueue->nr_pages = nr_pages;
- wqueue->nr_notes = nr_notes;
+ /* Pairs with the smp_load_acquire() in post_one_notification(). */
+ smp_store_release(&wqueue->nr_notes, nr_notes);
return 0;
error_p:
--
2.53.0
prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-10-22 11:35 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 2+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-10-21 14:34 FAILED: patch "[PATCH] watch_queue: Fix note pool publication race in" failed to apply to 5.10-stable tree gregkh
2026-10-22 11:35 ` Sasha Levin [this message]
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