[PATCH net] vsock: initialize child_ns_mode_locked in vsock_net_init()

Stefano Garzarella
2026-04-01T09:22:00Z

From: Stefano Garzarella <sgarzare@redhat.com>

The `child_ns_mode_locked` field lives in `struct net`, which persists
across vsock module reloads. When the module is unloaded and reloaded,
`vsock_net_init()` resets `mode` and `child_ns_mode` back to their
default values, but does not reset `child_ns_mode_locked`.

The stale lock from the previous module load causes subsequent writes
to `child_ns_mode` to silently fail: `vsock_net_set_child_mode()` sees
the old lock, skips updating the actual value, and returns success
when the requested mode matches the stale lock. The sysctl handler
reports no error, but `child_ns_mode` remains unchanged.

Steps to reproduce:
$ modprobe vsock
$ echo local > /proc/sys/net/vsock/child_ns_mode
$ cat /proc/sys/net/vsock/child_ns_mode
local
$ modprobe -r vsock
$ modprobe vsock
$ echo local > /proc/sys/net/vsock/child_ns_mode
$ cat /proc/sys/net/vsock/child_ns_mode
global <--- expected "local"

Fix this by initializing `child_ns_mode_locked` to 0 (unlocked) in
`vsock_net_init()`, so the write-once mechanism works correctly after
module reload.

Fixes: 102eab95f025 ("vsock: lock down child_ns_mode as write-once")
Cc: bobbyeshleman@meta.com
Reported-by: Jin Liu <jinl@redhat.com>
Signed-off-by: Stefano Garzarella <sgarzare@redhat.com>
---
net/vmw_vsock/af_vsock.c | 1 +
1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)

diff --git a/net/vmw_vsock/af_vsock.c b/net/vmw_vsock/af_vsock.c
index 2f7d94d682cb..d912ed2f012a 100644
--- a/net/vmw_vsock/af_vsock.c
+++ b/net/vmw_vsock/af_vsock.c
@@ -2928,6 +2928,7 @@ static void vsock_net_init(struct net *net)
net->vsock.mode = vsock_net_child_mode(current->nsproxy->net_ns);

net->vsock.child_ns_mode = net->vsock.mode;
+ net->vsock.child_ns_mode_locked = 0;
}

static __net_init int vsock_sysctl_init_net(struct net *net)
--
2.53.0