Re: [PATCH] crypto: qat - clear fw_loader pointer on adf_ae_init() failure

[Ahsan Atta <ahsan.atta@intel.com>]

On Fri, Nov 13, 2026 at 12:20:47PM +0100, Thomas Huth wrote:
> Am 03.11.26 um 11:01 schrieb Ahsan Atta:
> > adf_ae_init() stores the newly allocated loader data in
> > accel_dev->fw_loader before calling qat_hal_init(), as the latter
> > publishes the HAL handle through that pointer. If either
> > qat_hal_init() or adf_ae_reset() fails, the error paths free the
> > allocation but leave accel_dev->fw_loader pointing at freed memory,
> > so the device is left holding a dangling pointer.
> > 
> > No code path dereferences that stale pointer today. This is therefore
> > a robustness improvement with no observable failure behind it, hence
> > no Fixes tag.
> > 
> > Clear accel_dev->fw_loader when the allocation is released, and fold
> > the duplicated error handling into a cascading goto chain. Report the
> > error returned by the callee rather than a generic -EFAULT;
> > adf_dev_init() still maps any failure to -EFAULT, so this is a
> > readability improvement and not a functional change.
> 
> The -EFAULT in adf_dev_init() should likely also go away: EFAULT means "Bad
> address", i.e. a page could not be accessed. Thus it's likely the wrong
> error code for most cases there.>

Hi Thomas,
With this patch adf_dev_init() would still return -EFAULT when
adf_ae_init() fails.

        if (adf_ae_init(accel_dev)) {
                dev_err(&GET_DEV(accel_dev),
                        "Failed to initialise Acceleration Engine\n");
                return -EFAULT;
        }
Let me know if you would like me to add your reviewed by tag.

Thanks,
Ahsan Atta