From: Philo Lu <lulie@linux.alibaba.com>
To: stable@vger.kernel.org
Cc: tj@kernel.org, hannes@cmpxchg.org, cgroups@vger.kernel.org,
linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, eadavis@qq.com, surenb@google.com,
akpm@linux-foundation.org, dust.li@linux.alibaba.com
Subject: [PATCH 6.1.y 2/2] sched/psi: fix race between file release and pressure write
Date: Wed, 15 Jul 2026 16:42:53 +0800 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260715084253.43276-3-lulie@linux.alibaba.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20260715084253.43276-1-lulie@linux.alibaba.com>
From: Edward Adam Davis <eadavis@qq.com>
commit a5b98009f16d8a5fb4a8ff9a193f5735515c38fa upstream.
A potential race condition exists between pressure write and cgroup file
release regarding the priv member of struct kernfs_open_file, which
triggers the uaf reported in [1].
Consider the following scenario involving execution on two separate CPUs:
CPU0 CPU1
==== ====
vfs_rmdir()
kernfs_iop_rmdir()
cgroup_rmdir()
cgroup_kn_lock_live()
cgroup_destroy_locked()
cgroup_addrm_files()
cgroup_rm_file()
kernfs_remove_by_name()
kernfs_remove_by_name_ns()
vfs_write() __kernfs_remove()
new_sync_write() kernfs_drain()
kernfs_fop_write_iter() kernfs_drain_open_files()
cgroup_file_write() kernfs_release_file()
pressure_write() cgroup_file_release()
ctx = of->priv;
kfree(ctx);
of->priv = NULL;
cgroup_kn_unlock()
cgroup_kn_lock_live()
cgroup_get(cgrp)
cgroup_kn_unlock()
if (ctx->psi.trigger) // here, trigger uaf for ctx, that is of->priv
The cgroup_rmdir() is protected by the cgroup_mutex, it also safeguards
the memory deallocation of of->priv performed within cgroup_file_release().
However, the operations involving of->priv executed within pressure_write()
are not entirely covered by the protection of cgroup_mutex. Consequently,
if the code in pressure_write(), specifically the section handling the
ctx variable executes after cgroup_file_release() has completed, a uaf
vulnerability involving of->priv is triggered.
Therefore, the issue can be resolved by extending the scope of the
cgroup_mutex lock within pressure_write() to encompass all code paths
involving of->priv, thereby properly synchronizing the race condition
occurring between cgroup_file_release() and pressure_write().
And, if an live kn lock can be successfully acquired while executing
the pressure write operation, it indicates that the cgroup deletion
process has not yet reached its final stage; consequently, the priv
pointer within open_file cannot be NULL. Therefore, the operation to
retrieve the ctx value must be moved to a point *after* the live kn
lock has been successfully acquired.
In another situation, specifically after entering cgroup_kn_lock_live()
but before acquiring cgroup_mutex, there exists a different class of
race condition:
CPU0: write memory.pressure CPU1: write cgroup.pressure=0
=========================== =============================
kernfs_fop_write_iter()
kernfs_get_active_of(of)
pressure_write()
cgroup_kn_lock_live(memory.pressure)
cgroup_tryget(cgrp)
kernfs_break_active_protection(kn)
... blocks on cgroup_mutex
cgroup_pressure_write()
cgroup_kn_lock_live(cgroup.pressure)
cgroup_file_show(memory.pressure, false)
kernfs_show(false)
kernfs_drain_open_files()
cgroup_file_release(of)
kfree(ctx)
of->priv = NULL
cgroup_kn_unlock()
... acquires cgroup_mutex
ctx = of->priv; // may now be NULL
if (ctx->psi.trigger) // NULL dereference
Consequently, there is a possibility that of->priv is NULL, the pressure
write needs to check for this.
Now that the scope of the cgroup_mutex has been expanded, the original
explicit cgroup_get/put operations are no longer necessary, this is
because acquiring/releasing the live kn lock inherently executes a
cgroup get/put operation.
[1]
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in pressure_write+0xa4/0x210 kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c:4011
Call Trace:
pressure_write+0xa4/0x210 kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c:4011
cgroup_file_write+0x36f/0x790 kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c:4311
kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x3b0/0x540 fs/kernfs/file.c:352
Allocated by task 9352:
cgroup_file_open+0x90/0x3a0 kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c:4256
kernfs_fop_open+0x9eb/0xcb0 fs/kernfs/file.c:724
do_dentry_open+0x83d/0x13e0 fs/open.c:949
Freed by task 9353:
cgroup_file_release+0xd6/0x100 kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c:4283
kernfs_release_file fs/kernfs/file.c:764 [inline]
kernfs_drain_open_files+0x392/0x720 fs/kernfs/file.c:834
kernfs_drain+0x470/0x600 fs/kernfs/dir.c:525
Fixes: 0e94682b73bf ("psi: introduce psi monitor")
Reported-by: syzbot+33e571025d88efd1312c@syzkaller.appspotmail.com
Closes: https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=33e571025d88efd1312c
Tested-by: syzbot+33e571025d88efd1312c@syzkaller.appspotmail.com
Signed-off-by: Edward Adam Davis <eadavis@qq.com>
Reviewed-by: Chen Ridong <chenridong@huaweicloud.com>
Signed-off-by: Tejun Heo <tj@kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Philo Lu <lulie@linux.alibaba.com>
---
kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c | 24 ++++++++++++++++--------
1 file changed, 16 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)
diff --git a/kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c b/kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c
index fe6cb64e7c662..dbd9420c5223c 100644
--- a/kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c
+++ b/kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c
@@ -3786,33 +3786,41 @@ static int cgroup_cpu_pressure_show(struct seq_file *seq, void *v)
static ssize_t pressure_write(struct kernfs_open_file *of, char *buf,
size_t nbytes, enum psi_res res)
{
- struct cgroup_file_ctx *ctx = of->priv;
+ struct cgroup_file_ctx *ctx;
struct psi_trigger *new;
struct cgroup *cgrp;
struct psi_group *psi;
+ ssize_t ret = 0;
cgrp = cgroup_kn_lock_live(of->kn, false);
if (!cgrp)
return -ENODEV;
- cgroup_get(cgrp);
- cgroup_kn_unlock(of->kn);
+ ctx = of->priv;
+ if (!ctx) {
+ ret = -ENODEV;
+ goto out_unlock;
+ }
/* Allow only one trigger per file descriptor */
if (ctx->psi.trigger) {
- cgroup_put(cgrp);
- return -EBUSY;
+ ret = -EBUSY;
+ goto out_unlock;
}
psi = cgroup_psi(cgrp);
new = psi_trigger_create(psi, buf, res, of->file, of);
if (IS_ERR(new)) {
- cgroup_put(cgrp);
- return PTR_ERR(new);
+ ret = PTR_ERR(new);
+ goto out_unlock;
}
smp_store_release(&ctx->psi.trigger, new);
- cgroup_put(cgrp);
+
+out_unlock:
+ cgroup_kn_unlock(of->kn);
+ if (ret)
+ return ret;
return nbytes;
}
--
2.47.3
prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-07-15 8:43 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 3+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-07-15 8:42 [PATCH 6.1.y 0/2] sched/psi: fix race in pressure_write (CVE-2026-52991) Philo Lu
2026-07-15 8:42 ` [PATCH 6.1.y 1/2] cgroup/psi: Set of->priv to NULL upon file release Philo Lu
2026-07-15 8:42 ` Philo Lu [this message]
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