Re: [PATCH v2] usbip: usbip_host: fix null pointer dereference in

[Greg KH <gregkh@linuxfoundation.org>]

On Fri, Aug 07, 2026 at 03:48:22PM +0530, Jeffin Philip wrote:
> On Fri, Aug 07, 2026 at 08:00:31 +0200, Greg KH wrote:
> >On Fri, Aug 07, 2026 at 10:07:59AM +0530, Jeffin Philip wrote:
> >> rebind_store calls do_rebind which dereferences udev without
> >> checking if it is NULL. If busid is registered using match_busid
> >> but the device is never bound to the driver or it is never present
> >> in the first place, it triggers a null pointer dereference when we
> >> attempt to rebind the device. Fix this by checking explicitly for
> >> udev first and returning -ENODEV if udev is NULL. Add usb_get_dev
> >> in addition to the null check to get a reference to udev to prevent
> >> udev from becoming NULL after the check. Drop the reference after
> >> using it in do_rebind().
> >> 
> >> Reported-by: syzbot+af76b01c9a0f0ab60fb0@syzkaller.appspotmail.com
> >> Closes: https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=af76b01c9a0f0ab60fb0
> >> Fixes: 4bfb141bc013 ("usbip: usbip_host: fix to hold parent lock for device_attach() calls")
> >> Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org
> >> Signed-off-by: Jeffin Philip <jeffinphilip14@gmail.com>
> >> ---
> >> Changes in v2:
> >>  - Addressed concerns raised by the maintainer in v1 discussion
> >>    - Added usb_get_dev() to get a reference to udev preventing
> >>      it from becoming null after the null check. Drop the reference
> >>      after using it in do_rebind()
> >> ---
> >>  drivers/usb/usbip/stub_main.c | 9 +++++++++
> >>  1 file changed, 9 insertions(+)
> >> 
> >> diff --git a/drivers/usb/usbip/stub_main.c b/drivers/usb/usbip/stub_main.c
> >> index 79110a69d697..c911626427dc 100644
> >> --- a/drivers/usb/usbip/stub_main.c
> >> +++ b/drivers/usb/usbip/stub_main.c
> >> @@ -256,12 +256,21 @@ static ssize_t rebind_store(struct device_driver *dev, const char *buf,
> >>  	if (!bid)
> >>  		return -ENODEV;
> >>  
> >> +	if (!bid->udev) {
> >> +		put_busid_priv(bid);
> >> +		return -ENODEV;
> >> +	}
> >> +
> >> +	/* get a reference to udev to prevent it from becoming NULL */
> >> +	usb_get_dev(bid->udev);
> >
> >So what happens if udev becomes NULL after checking it and before
> >grabbing the reference?
> 
> I looked through the driver and could not find where udev becomes NULL after
> checking and before getting the reference since we do both of those under
> busid lock. There is a small window between releasing the lock and
> do_rebind, is that what what you are referring to? If so or otherwise, 
> could you please advise me on how to move forward in correcting this patch?

If you do not hold a lock when testing and doing something based on a
field, it will race and is broken.

Again, step back and try to determine what you are trying to fix here,
and how that can be done in a race-free way.  If you don't know, that's
fine too, I sure don't!  :)

But we can't take a change that doesn't actually fix the issue, you
wouldn't want that, right?

Why are you looking at this issue anyway?  Did someone assign it to you?

thanks,

greg k-h