From: Sasha Levin <sashal@kernel.org>
To: stable@vger.kernel.org
Cc: Chris Mason <mason@kernel.org>,
"Christian Brauner (Amutable)" <brauner@kernel.org>,
Sasha Levin <sashal@kernel.org>
Subject: [PATCH 5.10.y] aio: fix NULL deref when a fault races ring truncation
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2026 23:32:39 -0500 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20261114042622.2837414-1-sashal@kernel.org> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20261107063059-failed-5.10-d53b5aa5cfae@kernel.org>
From: Chris Mason <mason@kernel.org>
[ Upstream commit d53b5aa5cfae27e4d236fc0ab9581085d27f7d33 ]
The aio ring lives in a file on the aio pseudo filesystem and the ring
VMA uses filemap_fault(). aio_ctx_aops doesn't have a ->read_folio
because aio_setup_ring() puts all folios of the ring into the page
cache. So a fault on the ring only works as long as it finds its folio
in the page cache. If it doesn't, filemap_fault() calls ->read_folio
without checking and we jump to NULL.
We already fixed this twice this year. A forked child could inherit the
ring mapping, fixed by commit c03ce4173c7b ("fs: aio: set
VMA_DONTCOPY_BIT in mmap to fix NULL-pointer-dereference error"). And a
partial mremap() could leave part of the ring mapped, fixed by
commit 3adf7ae18bf4 ("fs: aio: reject partial mremap to avoid
Null-pointer-dereference error"). Both times a VMA outlived the ring and
the ring file was truncated under it.
There's a third way to get there. kill_ioctx() and the error path of
ioctx_alloc() unmap the ring with vm_munmap() and ignore the return
value. If vm_munmap() has to wait for mmap_lock and a fatal signal is
pending it returns -EINTR and the VMA stays. free_ioctx() then calls
put_aio_ring_file() which truncates the ring file to zero. A fault that
passed the i_size check in filemap_fault() before that doesn't find its
folio anymore, allocates a new one and calls ->read_folio:
fault on the ring io_destroy() with SIGKILL pending
================= =================================
vm_munmap() returns -EINTR
filemap_fault()
i_size check passes
free_ioctx()
put_aio_ring_file()
truncate_setsize(inode, 0)
no folio, allocate a new one
filemap_read_folio()
->read_folio == NULL
All that's needed is a second process that shares the mm. If a CLONE_VM
child calls io_destroy() and gets SIGKILLed while it waits for mmap_lock
the ring stays mapped for the threads of the parent. Any user can do
that.
Instead of plugging the routes one by one give the ring a ->read_folio
that unlocks the folio and returns -EIO. All folios of a live ring are
in the page cache so a fault can only end up there if the ring was
truncated. The fault now gets SIGBUS. Nothing else reads the ring file
and the aio filesystem uses noop_backing_dev_info so there's no
readahead either.
Making vm_munmap() unkillable in those two places would only close this
one route and bring back what commit ae7987835643 ("mm: make vm_munmap
killable") fixed.
Fixes: 36bc08cc0170 ("fs/aio: Add support to aio ring pages migration")
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org
Signed-off-by: Chris Mason <mason@kernel.org>
Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20261029-work-fs-ai-fixes-v1-1-88f22792f6f7@kernel.org
Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner (Amutable) <brauner@kernel.org>
[ sashal: adapted the folio-based read_folio callback to page-based readpage using unlock_page() ]
Signed-off-by: Sasha Levin <sashal@kernel.org>
---
fs/aio.c | 11 +++++++++++
1 file changed, 11 insertions(+)
diff --git a/fs/aio.c b/fs/aio.c
index 16ceed755b7e5..8ba65b4ec8fc2 100644
--- a/fs/aio.c
+++ b/fs/aio.c
@@ -455,7 +455,18 @@ static int aio_migratepage(struct address_space *mapping, struct page *new,
}
#endif
+/*
+ * filemap_fault() reads a page that it did not find in the page cache. All
+ * pages of a live ring are there, so the ring was truncated under the fault.
+ */
+static int aio_readpage(struct file *file, struct page *page)
+{
+ unlock_page(page);
+ return -EIO;
+}
+
static const struct address_space_operations aio_ctx_aops = {
+ .readpage = aio_readpage,
.set_page_dirty = __set_page_dirty_no_writeback,
#if IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_MIGRATION)
.migratepage = aio_migratepage,
--
2.53.0
prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-11-14 4:32 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 2+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-11-07 11:30 FAILED: patch "[PATCH] aio: fix NULL deref when a fault races ring truncation" failed to apply to 5.10-stable tree Sasha Levin
2026-11-14 4:32 ` Sasha Levin [this message]
Reply instructions:
You may reply publicly to this message via plain-text email
using any one of the following methods:
* Save the following mbox file, import it into your mail client,
and reply-to-all from there: mbox
Avoid top-posting and favor interleaved quoting:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posting_style#Interleaved_style
* Reply using the --to, --cc, and --in-reply-to
switches of git-send-email(1):
git send-email \
--in-reply-to=20261114042622.2837414-1-sashal@kernel.org \
--to=sashal@kernel.org \
--cc=brauner@kernel.org \
--cc=mason@kernel.org \
--cc=stable@vger.kernel.org \
/path/to/YOUR_REPLY
https://kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/git-send-email.html
* If your mail client supports setting the In-Reply-To header
via mailto: links, try the mailto: link
Be sure your reply has a Subject: header at the top and a blank line
before the message body.
This is a public inbox, see mirroring instructions
for how to clone and mirror all data and code used for this inbox