From: Potin Lai <potin.lai.pt@gmail.com>
To: Andrew Lunn <andrew+netdev@lunn.ch>,
"David S. Miller" <davem@davemloft.net>,
Eric Dumazet <edumazet@google.com>,
Jakub Kicinski <kuba@kernel.org>,
Paolo Abeni <pabeni@redhat.com>,
Oliver Neukum <oliver@neukum.org>,
Samuel Mendoza-Jonas <sam@mendozajonas.com>,
Paul Fertser <fercerpav@gmail.com>,
Simon Horman <horms@kernel.org>
Cc: Potin Lai <potin.lai.pt@gmail.com>,
linux-usb@vger.kernel.org, netdev@vger.kernel.org,
linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org,
Cosmo Chou <cosmo.chou@quantatw.com>,
Mike Hsieh <Mike_Hsieh@quantatw.com>,
Mik Lin <Mik.Lin@quantatw.com>,
Potin Lai <potin.lai@quantatw.com>,
Adrian Ambrozewicz <aambrozewicz@nvidia.com>
Subject: [PATCH v2 2/2] net/ncsi: fix use-after-free in ncsi_unregister_dev()
Date: Tue, 08 Sep 2026 21:01:32 +0800 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260908-ncsi-over-usb-v2-2-92dd78272fbd@gmail.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20260908-ncsi-over-usb-v2-0-92dd78272fbd@gmail.com>
From: Adrian Ambrozewicz <aambrozewicz@nvidia.com>
ncsi_unregister_dev() frees the ncsi_dev_priv structure while timers
and workqueue may still be accessing it, causing use-after-free.
The problem involves two async mechanisms:
1. Request timers (ncsi_request_timeout) - fire when NCSI responses
are not received in time
2. Workqueue (ncsi_dev_work) - processes NCSI state machine
These can cascade: timer handlers call ncsi_free_request() which may
call schedule_work(), and work can send commands that arm new timers.
The fix adds proper synchronization before kfree():
dev_remove_pack() - stop packet reception
timer_delete_sync() x 256 - cancel all request timers
cancel_work_sync() - wait for workqueue to complete
kfree(ndp)
Order matters: timers must be cancelled before work because timer
handlers may schedule new work via ncsi_free_request().
Note: ncsi_dev_work() is non-blocking - it sends a command, arms a
timer, and returns immediately. It does not wait for timer completion.
The timer firing later triggers schedule_work() for the next state.
So cancel_work_sync() will not hang waiting for cancelled timers.
This relies on ncsi_stop_dev() being called first (guaranteed by the
network device lifecycle). ncsi_stop_dev() sets state to
ncsi_dev_state_functional, which causes ncsi_dev_work() to exit
immediately without sending commands or arming timers. This breaks
the timer<->work cycle and ensures the synchronization terminates.
Timeline showing the race (without fix):
CPU 0 (unregister) CPU 1 (async)
------------------ -------------
ncsi_unregister_dev()
dev_remove_pack()
ncsi_request_timeout()
ncsi_free_request()
schedule_work()
kfree(ndp)
ncsi_dev_work()
ndp->... <- UAF!
With fix:
CPU 0 (unregister) CPU 1 (async)
------------------ -------------
ncsi_unregister_dev()
dev_remove_pack()
timer_delete_sync() x 256 <- waits for timer handlers
ncsi_request_timeout()
ncsi_free_request()
schedule_work()
cancel_work_sync() <- waits for work
ncsi_dev_work()
state=0x100, exits immediately
kfree(ndp) <- safe
Signed-off-by: Adrian Ambrozewicz <aambrozewicz@nvidia.com>
Signed-off-by: Potin Lai <potin.lai.pt@gmail.com>
---
net/ncsi/ncsi-manage.c | 19 +++++++++++++++++++
1 file changed, 19 insertions(+)
diff --git a/net/ncsi/ncsi-manage.c b/net/ncsi/ncsi-manage.c
index 54d0df0a9efe..15d7e4cabf4f 100644
--- a/net/ncsi/ncsi-manage.c
+++ b/net/ncsi/ncsi-manage.c
@@ -1957,9 +1957,28 @@ void ncsi_unregister_dev(struct ncsi_dev *nd)
struct ncsi_dev_priv *ndp = TO_NCSI_DEV_PRIV(nd);
struct ncsi_package *np, *tmp;
unsigned long flags;
+ int i;
dev_remove_pack(&ndp->ptype);
+ /*
+ * Synchronize with async operations before freeing ndp.
+ *
+ * Note: The caller must have called ncsi_stop_dev() first, which
+ * sets nd->state to ncsi_dev_state_functional (0x100). This causes
+ * any running or scheduled ncsi_dev_work() to exit immediately
+ * without sending commands or arming new timers, breaking the
+ * potential cycle of: work -> arm timer -> timer -> schedule work.
+ *
+ * Order matters:
+ * 1. timer_delete_sync() - cancel timers, handlers may schedule work
+ * 2. cancel_work_sync() - cancel work scheduled by timer handlers
+ */
+ for (i = 0; i < ARRAY_SIZE(ndp->requests); i++)
+ timer_delete_sync(&ndp->requests[i].timer);
+
+ cancel_work_sync(&ndp->work);
+
list_for_each_entry_safe(np, tmp, &ndp->packages, node)
ncsi_remove_package(np);
--
2.52.0
prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-09-08 13:04 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 4+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-09-08 13:01 [PATCH v2 0/2] net: add USB CDC Ethernet NCSI support and fix unregister UAF Potin Lai
2026-09-08 13:01 ` [PATCH v2 1/2] net: usb: cdc_ether: add NCSI passthrough support Potin Lai
2026-09-09 18:47 ` Andrew Lunn
2026-09-08 13:01 ` Potin Lai [this message]
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