Re: [PATCH v2] tmpfs: fix unicode_map leaks in casefold option handling

[Andrew Morton]

On Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:25:16 +0900 Kazuki Hanai <hnkz.64@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> shmem_parse_opt_casefold() stores the unicode_map returned by
> utf8_load() in ctx->encoding. The casefold parameter can be supplied
> more than once for the same filesystem context, but replacing the
> stored map does not release the previous reference.
> 
> The final reference is also leaked when an unmounted filesystem
> context is freed.
> 
> Release the previous map before replacing it, clear ctx->encoding
> after transferring ownership to the superblock, and release any
> remaining reference from shmem_free_fc().
> 
> An unprivileged user can repeatedly set the casefold parameter on a
> tmpfs filesystem context from a user namespace. This causes
> unbounded kernel memory consumption and can result in a local denial
> of service.

Thanks.

> Fixes: 58e55efd6c72 ("tmpfs: Add casefold lookup support")

It's best to cc the people who were involved in the Fixes: patch.

> Cc: stable@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> ...
>
> --- a/mm/shmem.c
> +++ b/mm/shmem.c
> @@ -4508,6 +4508,7 @@ static int shmem_parse_opt_casefold(struct fs_context *fc, struct fs_parameter *
>  	pr_info("tmpfs: Using encoding : utf8-%u.%u.%u\n",
>  		unicode_major(version), unicode_minor(version), unicode_rev(version));
>  
> +	utf8_unload(ctx->encoding);
>  	ctx->encoding = encoding;
>  
>  	return 0;
> @@ -4976,6 +4977,7 @@ static int shmem_fill_super(struct super_block *sb, struct fs_context *fc)
>  
>  	if (ctx->encoding) {
>  		sb->s_encoding = ctx->encoding;
> +		ctx->encoding = NULL;
>  		set_default_d_op(sb, &shmem_ci_dentry_ops);
>  		if (ctx->strict_encoding)
>  			sb->s_encoding_flags = SB_ENC_STRICT_MODE_FL;
> @@ -5073,6 +5075,9 @@ static void shmem_free_fc(struct fs_context *fc)
>  	struct shmem_options *ctx = fc->fs_private;
>  
>  	if (ctx) {
> +#if IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_UNICODE)
> +		utf8_unload(ctx->encoding);
> +#endif
>  		mpol_put(ctx->mpol);
>  		kfree(ctx);
>  	}
> -- 
> 2.53.0