[PATCH v4] USB: serial: garmin_gps: validate packet data length in nat_receive()

From: Hui Peng

Date: Sun Sep 20 2026 - 23:02:49 EST


In nat_receive() (called from garmin_write() when userspace writes to
/dev/ttyUSBn in MODE_NATIVE mode), while garmin_data_p->insize is less
than GARMIN_PKTHDR_LENGTH (12), the loop copies up to 12 bytes into
garmin_data_p->inbuffer. Once garmin_data_p->insize reaches
GARMIN_PKTHDR_LENGTH, nat_receive() computes the total packet size as:

len = GARMIN_PKTHDR_LENGTH + getDataLength(garmin_data_p->inbuffer);

Because getDataLength() returns a signed int from __le32_to_cpup(), a
12-byte header with a negative 32-bit length field (such as 0xfffffff5,
i.e., -11) causes len to underflow to a small positive value (12 + (-11)
= 1) without any bounds check at that point. Then garmin_data_p->insize
>= len (12 >= 1) evaluates to true and nat_receive() calls
garmin_write_bulk(port, inbuffer, 1, 0), which allocates a 1-byte slab
buffer via kmemdup() and immediately reads 4 bytes from it in
getLayerId(buffer) (and again in garmin_write_bulk_callback() when the
URB completes):

BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in garmin_write_bulk.constprop.0+0x3eb/0x500
Read of size 4 at addr ffff888002cc0ba0 by task init/1
Call Trace:
<TASK>
dump_stack_lvl+0x70/0xa0
print_report+0x153/0x4c6
kasan_report+0xf1/0x120
garmin_write_bulk.constprop.0+0x3eb/0x500
garmin_write+0x60f/0x1450
serial_write+0x123/0x200
n_tty_write+0x8ea/0xeb0
file_tty_write.isra.0+0x44f/0x7a0
vfs_write+0x671/0xd20

Validate the unsigned 32-bit data length (dlen >= GPS_IN_BUFSIZ -
GARMIN_PKTHDR_LENGTH, matching the existing len >= GPS_IN_BUFSIZ bound)
in nat_receive() as soon as the 12-byte header is present, resetting
insize and returning -EINVPKT on invalid lengths so garmin_write_bulk()
is only ever called with a full valid packet header (12 <= len <
GPS_IN_BUFSIZ).

Tested in QEMU against Linux 7.3.0-rc3 by emulating a Garmin USB GPS
device (091e:0003) via dummy_hcd + raw-gadget, switching /dev/ttyUSB0
to MODE_NATIVE via PRIV_PKTID_SET_MODE, and writing a 12-byte native
packet with data length 0xfffffff5: on the unfixed kernel this triggers
KASAN slab-out-of-bounds reads in garmin_write_bulk() and
garmin_write_bulk_callback(), whereas on the fixed kernel nat_receive()
rejects the packet with -EINVPKT and 0 KASAN faults.

Fixes: 1da177e4c3f4 ("Linux-2.6.12-rc2")
Cc: stable@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Assisted-by: LLM
Signed-off-by: Hui Peng <benquike@xxxxxxxxx>
---
Changes in v4:
- Kept the fix strictly inside nat_receive() and dropped the other hunks
from v3 (garmin_write_bulk_callback(), gsp_send(), and changing the
return type of getDataLength() / getPacketId()) per Greg
Kroah-Hartman:
1. Assigning u32 dlen = getDataLength(garmin_data_p->inbuffer) locally
in nat_receive() and rejecting dlen >= GPS_IN_BUFSIZ -
GARMIN_PKTHDR_LENGTH (matching the existing len >= GPS_IN_BUFSIZ
check at the top of the loop) prevents both negative/underflowed
lengths (< 12 bytes) and oversized lengths without needing to touch
getDataLength() across the file.
2. The out-of-bounds read in garmin_write_bulk() and
garmin_write_bulk_callback() was only reachable because
nat_receive() allowed len to underflow below GARMIN_PKTHDR_LENGTH
(12 bytes). All other callers of garmin_write_bulk() always pass at
least GARMIN_PKTHDR_LENGTH bytes, making a separate length check in
garmin_write_bulk_callback() redundant.
3. In MODE_GARMIN_SERIAL, gsp_receive() already bounds insize to
MAX_SERIAL_PKT_SIZ + 2 before calling gsp_send(), so the extra
bounds check in gsp_send() was an unrelated defensive check.
- Added Cc: stable@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and QEMU reproduction details.

drivers/usb/serial/garmin_gps.c | 10 ++++++++--
1 file changed, 8 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/drivers/usb/serial/garmin_gps.c b/drivers/usb/serial/garmin_gps.c
index 8020149f5658..a3f599043a4d 100644
--- a/drivers/usb/serial/garmin_gps.c
+++ b/drivers/usb/serial/garmin_gps.c
@@ -769,8 +769,14 @@ static int nat_receive(struct garmin_data *garmin_data_p,

/* do we have a complete packet ? */
if (garmin_data_p->insize >= GARMIN_PKTHDR_LENGTH) {
- len = GARMIN_PKTHDR_LENGTH+
- getDataLength(garmin_data_p->inbuffer);
+ u32 dlen = getDataLength(garmin_data_p->inbuffer);
+
+ if (dlen >= GPS_IN_BUFSIZ - GARMIN_PKTHDR_LENGTH) {
+ garmin_data_p->insize = 0;
+ result = -EINVPKT;
+ break;
+ }
+ len = GARMIN_PKTHDR_LENGTH + dlen;
if (garmin_data_p->insize >= len) {
garmin_write_bulk(garmin_data_p->port,
garmin_data_p->inbuffer,
--
2.49.0