Re: [PATCH] [RFC] fix potential access after free: return value of blk_check_plugged() must be used schedule() safe

From: Shaohua Li
Date: Tue Apr 05 2016 - 20:50:08 EST


On Tue, Apr 05, 2016 at 03:36:57PM +0200, Lars Ellenberg wrote:
> blk_check_plugged() will return a pointer
> to an object linked on current->plug->cb_list.
>
> That list may "at any time" be implicitly cleared by
> blk_flush_plug_list()
> flush_plug_callbacks()
> either as a result of blk_finish_plug(),
> or implicitly by schedule() [and maybe other implicit mechanisms?]
>
> If there is no protection against an implicit unplug
> between the call to blk_check_plug() and using its return value,
> that implicit unplug may have already happened,
> even before the plug is actually initialized or populated,
> and we may be using a pointer to already free()d data.

This isn't correct. flush plug is never called in preemption, which is designed
only called when the task is going to sleep. See sched_submit_work. Am I
missing anything?

Thanks,
Shaohua