Re: [PATCH] x86/mm/pat: take cpa_lock around large-page collapse

[Denis V. Lunev]

On 6/26/26 18:32, Denis V. Lunev wrote:
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> Loading and unloading modules concurrently on several CPUs on a KASAN
> build, with a short delay injected at the CPA page-table lookup to
> widen the window, faults within minutes:
>
>   BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in __change_page_attr+0x7cc/0x7e0
>   Write of size 8 at addr ffff888181139718 by task modprobe
>   ...
>   The buggy address belongs to the physical page:
>    pfn:0x181139 ... page_type: f2(table)
>
> cpa_collapse_large_pages() rebuilds a leaf PMD from its 4K PTEs and
> frees the old PTE-table pages, while __change_page_attr() fetches a
> PTE pointer from a lockless lookup_address_in_pgd_attr() and writes
> it with set_pte_atomic() only later. When module text is served from
> a shared large ROX mapping the two run on the same PMD:
>
>   CPU A (module load)              CPU B (module finalize)
>   -------------------              -----------------------
>   execmem_make_temp_rw
>    set_memory_nx
>     __change_page_attr
>      split 2M -> 4K table P
>      kpte = &P[i]  (lockless)
>                                    execmem_restore_rox
>                                     set_memory_rox (CPA_COLLAPSE)
>                                      cpa_collapse_large_pages
>                                       rebuild leaf PMD
>                                       flush_tlb_all
>                                       pagetable_free(P)
>      set_pte_atomic(kpte, ...)
>        -> writes into freed P
>
> P is a page-table page (page_type: table), reused at once, so the
> write corrupts whatever got the page next: a bad-pte or bad-page
> splat, or a fatal fault once P has been turned into read-only text.
>
> The flush_tlb_all() before the free does not close this: its IPI only
> serializes against page-table walkers that run with interrupts off
> (e.g. GUP-fast); the walk in __change_page_attr() runs with interrupts
> on, so nothing stops it from holding a stale pointer into P.
>
> Serialize the collapse - the PMD rebuild, TLB flush and PTE-table
> free - under cpa_lock, the lock __change_page_attr() takes for the
> split path, so a concurrent walker can no longer hold a pointer into
> a table the collapse is about to free.
>
> debug_pagealloc bypasses cpa_lock in __change_page_attr() (the direct
> map is 4K then, with no large pages to serialize), so the lock cannot
> order the two there. Skip the collapse in that config: it is only an
> optimization, and not freeing the tables leaves the unserialized walk
> nothing to race.
>
> Fixes: 41d88484c71c ("x86/mm/pat: restore large ROX pages after fragmentation")
> Signed-off-by: Denis V. Lunev <den@xxxxxxxxxx>
> ---
>  arch/x86/mm/pat/set_memory.c | 16 +++++++++++++++-
>  1 file changed, 15 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
>
> diff --git a/arch/x86/mm/pat/set_memory.c b/arch/x86/mm/pat/set_memory.c
> index d023a40a1e03..ff6e3f612986 100644
> --- a/arch/x86/mm/pat/set_memory.c
> +++ b/arch/x86/mm/pat/set_memory.c
> @@ -418,6 +418,16 @@ static void cpa_collapse_large_pages(struct cpa_data *cpa)
>  	int collapsed = 0;
>  	int i;
>  
> +	/*
> +	 * debug_pagealloc bypasses cpa_lock, so __change_page_attr() walks
> +	 * unserialized and freeing collapsed PTE-tables could race it; skip
> +	 * the optional merge there.
> +	 */
> +	if (debug_pagealloc_enabled())
> +		return;
> +
> +	spin_lock(&cpa_lock);
> +
>  	if (cpa->flags & (CPA_PAGES_ARRAY | CPA_ARRAY)) {
>  		for (i = 0; i < cpa->numpages; i++)
>  			collapsed += collapse_large_pages(__cpa_addr(cpa, i),
> @@ -431,8 +441,10 @@ static void cpa_collapse_large_pages(struct cpa_data *cpa)
>  			collapsed += collapse_large_pages(addr, &pgtables);
>  	}
>  
> -	if (!collapsed)
> +	if (!collapsed) {
> +		spin_unlock(&cpa_lock);
>  		return;
> +	}
>  
>  	flush_tlb_all();
>  
> @@ -440,6 +452,8 @@ static void cpa_collapse_large_pages(struct cpa_data *cpa)
>  		list_del(&ptdesc->pt_list);
>  		pagetable_free(ptdesc);
>  	}
> +
> +	spin_unlock(&cpa_lock);
>  }
>  
>  static void cpa_flush(struct cpa_data *cpa, int cache)
>
> base-commit: b81d185839fade27f7c4e885856696cf497d53c1
ping