From: Sasha Levin <sashal@kernel.org>
To: patches@lists.linux.dev, stable@vger.kernel.org
Cc: Henrique Carvalho <henrique.carvalho@suse.com>,
Steve French <stfrench@microsoft.com>,
Sasha Levin <sashal@kernel.org>,
sfrench@samba.org, linux-cifs@vger.kernel.org,
samba-technical@lists.samba.org
Subject: [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.19-6.6] smb: client: prevent races in ->query_interfaces()
Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2026 18:30:49 -0500 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260210233123.2905307-4-sashal@kernel.org> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20260210233123.2905307-1-sashal@kernel.org>
From: Henrique Carvalho <henrique.carvalho@suse.com>
[ Upstream commit c3c06e42e1527716c54f3ad2ced6a034b5f3a489 ]
It was possible for two query interface works to be concurrently trying
to update the interfaces.
Prevent this by checking and updating iface_last_update under
iface_lock.
Signed-off-by: Henrique Carvalho <henrique.carvalho@suse.com>
Signed-off-by: Steve French <stfrench@microsoft.com>
Signed-off-by: Sasha Levin <sashal@kernel.org>
---
LLM Generated explanations, may be completely bogus:
Now I have a complete picture. Let me summarize my analysis.
---
## Detailed Analysis
### 1. Commit Message Analysis
The commit message clearly describes a **race condition**: "It was
possible for two query interface works to be concurrently trying to
update the interfaces." The fix is to check and update
`iface_last_update` atomically under `iface_lock`. Authored by Henrique
Carvalho (SUSE) and signed off by Steve French (CIFS maintainer) - both
trusted SMB subsystem contributors.
### 2. The Bug: TOCTOU Race on `iface_last_update`
The `iface_last_update` field is explicitly documented in `cifsglob.h`
as **protected by `iface_lock`**:
```1119:1123:fs/smb/client/cifsglob.h
/* ========= begin: protected by iface_lock ======== */
struct list_head iface_list;
size_t iface_count;
unsigned long iface_last_update; /* jiffies */
/* ========= end: protected by iface_lock ======== */
```
And confirmed in the lock ordering documentation:
```2000:2002:fs/smb/client/cifsglob.h
- cifs_ses->iface_lock cifs_ses->iface_list
sesInfoAlloc
- ->iface_count
- ->iface_last_update
```
**Before the fix**, the code violated this contract in two ways:
1. **`SMB3_request_interfaces()` (line 828-831)**: Read
`iface_last_update` **without any lock**:
```827:831:fs/smb/client/smb2ops.c
/* do not query too frequently */
if (ses->iface_last_update &&
time_before(jiffies, ses->iface_last_update +
(SMB_INTERFACE_POLL_INTERVAL * HZ)))
return 0;
```
2. **`parse_server_interfaces()` (line 798)**: Wrote `iface_last_update
= jiffies` **without the lock** at the end of processing.
The second check inside `parse_server_interfaces()` (line 641-646, under
`iface_lock`) was meant to catch races, but it came **after** the
expensive `SMB2_ioctl()` network call had already been made.
### 3. Race Scenario
`SMB3_request_interfaces()` can be called from **multiple concurrent
paths**:
- `smb2_query_server_interfaces()` - periodic delayed work (every 600s)
- `smb2_reconnect()` (via `query_server_interfaces` function pointer) -
reconnection path
- `smb3_qfs_tcon()` - during mount
**Race sequence**:
1. Thread A reads `iface_last_update` (no lock) → timer expired →
proceeds to `SMB2_ioctl()`
2. Thread B reads `iface_last_update` (no lock) → same stale value →
also proceeds to `SMB2_ioctl()`
3. Both threads enter `parse_server_interfaces()` concurrently
4. Thread A takes `iface_lock`, marks ALL interfaces as `is_active = 0`,
drops lock
5. Thread B takes `iface_lock`, marks ALL interfaces as `is_active = 0`
again, drops lock
6. Both threads independently iterate the buffer, both try to match/add
interfaces
7. In the cleanup (`out:` label), both threads iterate the list and call
`kref_put()` on inactive entries
**Consequences**:
- **Double `kref_put()` / use-after-free**: Both threads may identify
the same interface as inactive and call `kref_put()` on it,
potentially dropping the refcount below zero or causing UAF
- **Corrupted `iface_count`**: Both threads decrement `ses->iface_count`
for the same interface
- **List corruption**: While individual list operations are under
`iface_lock`, the mark-inactive → process → cleanup sequence is NOT
atomic, leading to incorrect state
- **Unnecessary duplicate network I/O**: Both threads perform
`SMB2_ioctl()` when only one is needed
### 4. The Fix
The fix is elegant and minimal (8 insertions, 11 deletions, net -3
lines):
1. **In `SMB3_request_interfaces()`**: Wraps the `iface_last_update`
check **and** update in a single `spin_lock/spin_unlock` critical
section. Crucially, it sets `iface_last_update = jiffies` **before**
doing any work (optimistic update), ensuring the second thread will
see the updated timestamp and bail out immediately.
2. **In `parse_server_interfaces()`**: Removes the now-redundant
duplicate time check and the two `iface_last_update = jiffies`
assignments (one in the empty-list error path, one at end of
processing).
This converts the race-prone check-then-act sequence into an atomic
check-and-update.
### 5. Scope and Risk Assessment
- **Files changed**: 1 (`fs/smb/client/smb2ops.c`)
- **Lines changed**: 8 insertions, 11 deletions (net -3)
- **Subsystem**: SMB/CIFS client - filesystem, important for enterprise
users
- **Risk**: Very low - the change only adds proper locking around an
already-documented protected field
- **Side effect consideration**: Setting `iface_last_update` before the
work means that if `SMB2_ioctl()` fails, the timestamp is still
updated. However, this is acceptable because: (a) the old code also
set it on error paths (the `-EOPNOTSUPP` case set it), and (b) the
600-second polling interval means it will retry relatively soon
### 6. Stable Tree Applicability
The vulnerable code exists in:
- **v6.12**: Identical structure to mainline, should apply cleanly
- **v6.6**: Similar structure but has a slightly different
`iface_last_update` placement (inside the while loop, not at end of
function - due to commit 78e727e58e54e being a v6.8 era change). The
core race (unlocked check in `SMB3_request_interfaces`) exists and the
fix concept applies, but minor adaptation may be needed.
### 7. Dependencies
The fix is self-contained. It doesn't depend on any other commits. The
only context difference for older stable trees (v6.6) is the location of
`iface_last_update = jiffies` inside `parse_server_interfaces()`, but
the fix's approach (move checking+setting to the caller under lock,
remove from callee) works regardless.
### 8. Summary
This is a clear race condition fix in the SMB/CIFS client that:
- Fixes a documented locking violation (`iface_last_update` accessed
without `iface_lock`)
- Prevents potential use-after-free via double `kref_put()` on
interfaces
- Prevents interface list state corruption affecting SMB multichannel
- Is small (net -3 lines), surgical, single-file, and self-contained
- Affects an important subsystem (filesystem client) used widely in
enterprise environments
- Has very low regression risk
**YES**
fs/smb/client/smb2ops.c | 19 ++++++++-----------
1 file changed, 8 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)
diff --git a/fs/smb/client/smb2ops.c b/fs/smb/client/smb2ops.c
index c1aaf77e187b6..edfd6a4e87e8b 100644
--- a/fs/smb/client/smb2ops.c
+++ b/fs/smb/client/smb2ops.c
@@ -637,13 +637,6 @@ parse_server_interfaces(struct network_interface_info_ioctl_rsp *buf,
p = buf;
spin_lock(&ses->iface_lock);
- /* do not query too frequently, this time with lock held */
- if (ses->iface_last_update &&
- time_before(jiffies, ses->iface_last_update +
- (SMB_INTERFACE_POLL_INTERVAL * HZ))) {
- spin_unlock(&ses->iface_lock);
- return 0;
- }
/*
* Go through iface_list and mark them as inactive
@@ -666,7 +659,6 @@ parse_server_interfaces(struct network_interface_info_ioctl_rsp *buf,
"Empty network interface list returned by server %s\n",
ses->server->hostname);
rc = -EOPNOTSUPP;
- ses->iface_last_update = jiffies;
goto out;
}
@@ -795,8 +787,6 @@ parse_server_interfaces(struct network_interface_info_ioctl_rsp *buf,
+ sizeof(p->Next) && p->Next))
cifs_dbg(VFS, "%s: incomplete interface info\n", __func__);
- ses->iface_last_update = jiffies;
-
out:
/*
* Go through the list again and put the inactive entries
@@ -825,10 +815,17 @@ SMB3_request_interfaces(const unsigned int xid, struct cifs_tcon *tcon, bool in_
struct TCP_Server_Info *pserver;
/* do not query too frequently */
+ spin_lock(&ses->iface_lock);
if (ses->iface_last_update &&
time_before(jiffies, ses->iface_last_update +
- (SMB_INTERFACE_POLL_INTERVAL * HZ)))
+ (SMB_INTERFACE_POLL_INTERVAL * HZ))) {
+ spin_unlock(&ses->iface_lock);
return 0;
+ }
+
+ ses->iface_last_update = jiffies;
+
+ spin_unlock(&ses->iface_lock);
rc = SMB2_ioctl(xid, tcon, NO_FILE_ID, NO_FILE_ID,
FSCTL_QUERY_NETWORK_INTERFACE_INFO,
--
2.51.0
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-02-10 23:31 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 27+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-02-10 23:30 [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.19-6.12] i3c: mipi-i3c-hci: Reset RING_OPERATION1 fields during init Sasha Levin
2026-02-10 23:30 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.19-5.15] gfs2: fiemap page fault fix Sasha Levin
2026-02-10 23:30 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.19-6.18] dlm: fix recovery pending middle conversion Sasha Levin
2026-02-10 23:30 ` Sasha Levin [this message]
2026-02-10 23:30 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.19-6.12] i3c: mipi-i3c-hci: Ensure proper bus clean-up Sasha Levin
2026-02-11 7:56 ` Adrian Hunter
2026-02-10 23:30 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.19-5.10] audit: add fchmodat2() to change attributes class Sasha Levin
2026-02-10 23:30 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.19-6.12] btrfs: fallback to buffered IO if the data profile has duplication Sasha Levin
2026-02-10 23:30 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.19] btrfs: don't BUG() on unexpected delayed ref type in run_one_delayed_ref() Sasha Levin
2026-02-10 23:30 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.19-6.12] i3c: mipi-i3c-hci-pci: Add System Suspend support Sasha Levin
2026-02-11 7:57 ` Adrian Hunter
2026-02-10 23:30 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.19-6.18] hfsplus: fix volume corruption issue for generic/480 Sasha Levin
2026-02-10 23:30 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.19-6.18] kselftest/kublk: include message in _Static_assert for C11 compatibility Sasha Levin
2026-02-10 23:30 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.19-6.12] dlm: validate length in dlm_search_rsb_tree Sasha Levin
2026-02-10 23:30 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.19-6.18] i3c: mipi-i3c-hci: Stop reading Extended Capabilities if capability ID is 0 Sasha Levin
2026-02-10 23:30 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.19-6.1] fs/buffer: add alert in try_to_free_buffers() for folios without buffers Sasha Levin
2026-02-10 23:31 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.19-5.15] i3c: master: svc: Initialize 'dev' to NULL in svc_i3c_master_ibi_isr() Sasha Levin
2026-02-10 23:31 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.19-6.12] statmount: permission check should return EPERM Sasha Levin
2026-02-10 23:31 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.19-5.10] audit: add missing syscalls to read class Sasha Levin
2026-02-10 23:31 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.19-5.10] hfsplus: pretend special inodes as regular files Sasha Levin
2026-02-10 23:31 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.19-5.10] hfsplus: fix volume corruption issue for generic/498 Sasha Levin
2026-02-10 23:31 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.19-6.18] netfs: when subreq is marked for retry, do not check if it faced an error Sasha Levin
2026-02-10 23:31 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.19] hfs: Replace BUG_ON with error handling for CNID count checks Sasha Levin
2026-02-10 23:31 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.19-6.1] smb: client: add proper locking around ses->iface_last_update Sasha Levin
2026-02-10 23:31 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.19-6.6] btrfs: handle user interrupt properly in btrfs_trim_fs() Sasha Levin
2026-02-10 23:31 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.19-5.10] minix: Add required sanity checking to minix_check_superblock() Sasha Levin
2026-02-11 7:56 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.19-6.12] i3c: mipi-i3c-hci: Reset RING_OPERATION1 fields during init Adrian Hunter
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