* [PATCH net] net/mlx5e: macsec: fix use-after-free of metadata_dst on RX SC delete
@ 2026-06-15 14:05 Doruk Tan Ozturk
2026-06-17 9:16 ` Simon Horman
0 siblings, 1 reply; 2+ messages in thread
From: Doruk Tan Ozturk @ 2026-06-15 14:05 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: saeedm, leon, tariqt, mbloch, andrew+netdev, davem, edumazet,
kuba, pabeni
Cc: borisp, sd, raeds, ehakim, netdev, linux-rdma, linux-kernel,
Doruk Tan Ozturk, stable
macsec_del_rxsc_ctx() frees the RX SC metadata_dst via
metadata_dst_free(), which directly kfree()s the object and ignores the
dst_entry refcount. The MACsec RX offload datapath
mlx5e_macsec_offload_handle_rx_skb() takes a reference on this dst with
dst_hold() and attaches it to the skb via skb_dst_set(). If such an skb
is still in flight when the RX SC is deleted, the metadata_dst is freed
while the skb still references it; the subsequent dst_release() on skb
free then operates on already-freed memory.
Replace metadata_dst_free() with dst_release() so the metadata_dst is
freed only after the last reference is dropped. The dst subsystem frees
metadata_dst objects from dst_destroy() once the refcount reaches zero
(DST_METADATA is set by metadata_dst_alloc()).
Same class of bug and fix as commit c32b26aaa2f9 ("netfilter:
nft_tunnel: fix use-after-free on object destroy").
Fixes: 9b9e23c4dc2b ("net/mlx5e: MACsec, fix memory leak when MACsec device is deleted")
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org
Signed-off-by: Doruk Tan Ozturk <doruk@0sec.ai>
---
drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/en_accel/macsec.c | 2 +-
1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)
diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/en_accel/macsec.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/en_accel/macsec.c
index 71b3a059c964..2a4e7ed76d31 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/en_accel/macsec.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/en_accel/macsec.c
@@ -829,7 +829,7 @@ static void macsec_del_rxsc_ctx(struct mlx5e_macsec *macsec, struct mlx5e_macsec
*/
list_del_rcu(&rx_sc->rx_sc_list_element);
xa_erase(&macsec->sc_xarray, rx_sc->sc_xarray_element->fs_id);
- metadata_dst_free(rx_sc->md_dst);
+ dst_release(&rx_sc->md_dst->dst);
kfree(rx_sc->sc_xarray_element);
kfree_rcu_mightsleep(rx_sc);
}
--
2.43.0
^ permalink raw reply related [flat|nested] 2+ messages in thread* Re: [PATCH net] net/mlx5e: macsec: fix use-after-free of metadata_dst on RX SC delete
2026-06-15 14:05 [PATCH net] net/mlx5e: macsec: fix use-after-free of metadata_dst on RX SC delete Doruk Tan Ozturk
@ 2026-06-17 9:16 ` Simon Horman
0 siblings, 0 replies; 2+ messages in thread
From: Simon Horman @ 2026-06-17 9:16 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: doruk
Cc: Simon Horman, saeedm, leon, tariqt, mbloch, andrew+netdev, davem,
edumazet, kuba, pabeni, borisp, sd, raeds, ehakim, netdev,
linux-rdma, linux-kernel, stable
This is an AI-generated review of your patch. The human sending this
email has considered the AI review valid, or at least plausible.
Full review at: https://sashiko.dev
---
net/mlx5e: macsec: fix use-after-free of metadata_dst on RX SC delete
This patch replaces metadata_dst_free() with dst_release() during MACsec
RX SC deletion. It relies on the dst subsystem's refcounting to defer freeing
the metadata_dst until the last reference is dropped, aiming to fix a
use-after-free when an skb still references it.
> diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/en_accel/macsec.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/en_accel/macsec.c
> index 71b3a059c9647..2a4e7ed76d315 100644
> --- a/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/en_accel/macsec.c
> +++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/en_accel/macsec.c
> @@ -829,7 +829,7 @@ static void macsec_del_rxsc_ctx(struct mlx5e_macsec *macsec, struct mlx5e_macsec
> */
> list_del_rcu(&rx_sc->rx_sc_list_element);
> xa_erase(&macsec->sc_xarray, rx_sc->sc_xarray_element->fs_id);
> - metadata_dst_free(rx_sc->md_dst);
> + dst_release(&rx_sc->md_dst->dst);
[Severity: High]
Does this change introduce a new use-after-free in the RX datapath?
When dst_release() drops the refcount to 0, concurrent readers in
mlx5e_macsec_offload_handle_rx_skb() can still find the object via RCU
and call dst_hold(). Because dst_hold() uses rcuref_get(), it fails on a
0-refcount object without incrementing the count.
However, the datapath still attaches the 0-refcount dst to the skb. When the
skb is later freed, skb_dst_drop() will call dst_release() on already-freed
memory.
Should the datapath be updated to use dst_hold_safe() instead?
> kfree(rx_sc->sc_xarray_element);
[Severity: High]
This is a pre-existing issue, but does this synchronous kfree() cause a
use-after-free for concurrent datapath readers?
The element was just removed from the RCU-protected xarray via xa_erase(),
but the RX datapath can still be accessing it via xa_load() under
rcu_read_lock() in mlx5e_macsec_offload_handle_rx_skb().
Should this use an RCU-deferred free mechanism instead?
[Severity: Critical]
This is a pre-existing issue, but does mlx5e_macsec_offload_handle_rx_skb()
blindly dereference the result of xa_load()?
drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/en_accel/macsec.c:mlx5e_macsec_offload_handle_rx_skb() {
...
sc_xarray_element = xa_load(&macsec->sc_xarray, fs_id);
rx_sc = sc_xarray_element->rx_sc;
...
}
If xa_load() returns NULL (e.g., if the entry was concurrently deleted by
xa_erase() or the packet has an unrecognized fs_id), will this cause a
deterministic kernel panic?
Is a NULL check needed before accessing the returned element?
> kfree_rcu_mightsleep(rx_sc);
> }
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2026-06-15 14:05 [PATCH net] net/mlx5e: macsec: fix use-after-free of metadata_dst on RX SC delete Doruk Tan Ozturk
2026-06-17 9:16 ` Simon Horman
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