Re: BUG FIX: [PATCH RFC v3] memstick_check() memleak in kernel 6.1.0+ introduced pre 4.17

From: Mirsad Goran Todorovac
Date: Sat Apr 01 2023 - 02:23:41 EST


On 31. 03. 2023. 18:32, Greg KH wrote:
> On Fri, Mar 31, 2023 at 04:46:03PM +0200, Mirsad Goran Todorovac wrote:
>> On 29.3.2023. 19:25, Mirsad Goran Todorovac wrote:
>>> On 23.12.2022. 14:20, Mirsad Goran Todorovac wrote:
>>>> Hi all,
>>>>
>>>> When building a RPM 6.1.0-rc3 for AlmaLinux 8.6, I have enabled CONFIG_DEBUG_KMEMLEAK=y
>>>> and the result showed an unreferenced object in kworker process:
>>>>
>>>> cat /sys/kernel/debug/kmemleak
>>>> unreferenced object 0xffff888105028d80 (size 16):
>>>>    comm "kworker/u12:5", pid 359, jiffies 4294902898 (age 1620.144s)
>>>>    hex dump (first 16 bytes):
>>>>      6d 65 6d 73 74 69 63 6b 30 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  memstick0.......
>>>>    backtrace:
>>>>      [<ffffffffb6bb5542>] slab_post_alloc_hook+0xb2/0x340
>>>>      [<ffffffffb6bbbf5f>] __kmem_cache_alloc_node+0x1bf/0x2c0
>>>>      [<ffffffffb6af8175>] __kmalloc_node_track_caller+0x55/0x160
>>>>      [<ffffffffb6ae34a6>] kstrdup+0x36/0x60
>>>>      [<ffffffffb6ae3508>] kstrdup_const+0x28/0x30
>>>>      [<ffffffffb70d0757>] kvasprintf_const+0x97/0xd0
>>>>      [<ffffffffb7c9cdf4>] kobject_set_name_vargs+0x34/0xc0
>>>>      [<ffffffffb750289b>] dev_set_name+0x9b/0xd0
>>>>      [<ffffffffc12d9201>] memstick_check+0x181/0x639 [memstick]
>>>>      [<ffffffffb676e1d6>] process_one_work+0x4e6/0x7e0
>>>>      [<ffffffffb676e556>] worker_thread+0x76/0x770
>>>>      [<ffffffffb677b468>] kthread+0x168/0x1a0
>>>>      [<ffffffffb6604c99>] ret_from_fork+0x29/0x50
>>>>
>>>> mtodorov@domac:~/linux/kernel/linux_stable$ git bisect log
>>>> git bisect start
>>>> # bad: [f0c4d9fc9cc9462659728d168387191387e903cc] Linux 6.1-rc4
>>>> git bisect bad f0c4d9fc9cc9462659728d168387191387e903cc
>>>> # bad: [fbd56ddcecab5a3623a89c8e941fdbcc55b41045] Linux 6.0.1
>>>> git bisect bad fbd56ddcecab5a3623a89c8e941fdbcc55b41045
>>>> # bad: [7e18e42e4b280c85b76967a9106a13ca61c16179] Linux 6.0-rc4
>>>> git bisect bad 7e18e42e4b280c85b76967a9106a13ca61c16179
>>>> # bad: [568035b01cfb107af8d2e4bd2fb9aea22cf5b868] Linux 6.0-rc1
>>>> git bisect bad 568035b01cfb107af8d2e4bd2fb9aea22cf5b868
>>>> # bad: [84df9525b0c27f3ebc2ebb1864fa62a97fdedb7d] Linux 4.19
>>>> git bisect bad 84df9525b0c27f3ebc2ebb1864fa62a97fdedb7d
>>>> # bad: [94710cac0ef4ee177a63b5227664b38c95bbf703] Linux 4.18
>>>> git bisect bad 94710cac0ef4ee177a63b5227664b38c95bbf703
>>>> # bad: [29dcea88779c856c7dc92040a0c01233263101d4] Linux 4.17
>>>> git bisect bad 29dcea88779c856c7dc92040a0c01233263101d4
>>>>
>>>> Greg asked me if I would help bisect the bug, since I failed to
>>>> reproduce it on pre 4.17 kernels, because they wouldn't boot (black
>>>> screen) on the Lenovo ALmaLinux 8.7 (CentOS fork) desktop box that
>>>> only reproduced that bug:
>>>>
>>>>      product: 10TX000VCR (LENOVO_MT_10TX_BU_Lenovo_FM_V530S-07ICB)
>>>>      vendor: LENOVO
>>>>      version: V530S-07ICB
>>>>
>>>> I would welcome any advice.
>>>>
>>>> Please find attached the lshw output and the build config from the
>>>> last kernel version that also exhibits this bug, so the conclusion
>>>> is that it is not fixed since the report on November 29th 2022:
>>>>
>>>> https://lore.kernel.org/regressions/0d9c3f6c-3948-d5d1-bcc1-baf31141beaa@xxxxxxxxxxxx/T/#t
>>>>
>>>> With the hint of Tvrtko, I was able to extract the correct list of maintainers this time.
>>>>
>>>> The bug occurs in one kernel memory leak, and it is unobvious
>>>> whether a skilled attacker could use an abusive program to trigger
>>>> the leak of enough 16 byte slabs (and overhead) to exhaust kernel
>>>> memory and cause denial-of-service (crash of the system).
>>>>
>>>> I apologise for the first unsuccessful attempt.
>>>
>>> static struct memstick_dev *memstick_alloc_card(struct memstick_host *host)
>>>
>>> calls dev_set_name(&card->dev, "%s", dev_name(&host->dev)); that
>>> calls err = kobject_set_name_vargs(&dev->kobj, fmt, vargs); that
>>> executes:
>>>
>>>     if (strchr(s, '/')) {
>>>         char *t;
>>>
>>>         t = kstrdup(s, GFP_KERNEL);
>>>         kfree_const(s);
>>>         if (!t)
>>>             return -ENOMEM;
>>>         strreplace(t, '/', '!');
>>>         s = t;
>>>     }
>>>     kfree_const(kobj->name);
>>>     kobj->name = s;
>>>
>>> so, this kobj->name was never freed in the "goto err_out" case in line 404.
>>>
>>> 380 static struct memstick_dev *memstick_alloc_card(struct memstick_host *host)
>>> 381 {
>>> 382         struct memstick_dev *card = kzalloc(sizeof(struct memstick_dev),
>>> 383                                             GFP_KERNEL);
>>> 384         struct memstick_dev *old_card = host->card;
>>> 385         struct ms_id_register id_reg;
>>> 386
>>> 387         if (card) {
>>> 388                 card->host = host;
>>> 389                 dev_set_name(&card->dev, "%s", dev_name(&host->dev));
>>> 390                 card->dev.parent = &host->dev;
>>> 391                 card->dev.bus = &memstick_bus_type;
>>> 392                 card->dev.release = memstick_free_card;
>>> 393                 card->check = memstick_dummy_check;
>>> 394
>>> 395                 card->reg_addr.r_offset = offsetof(struct ms_register, id);
>>> 396                 card->reg_addr.r_length = sizeof(id_reg);
>>> 397                 card->reg_addr.w_offset = offsetof(struct ms_register, id);
>>> 398                 card->reg_addr.w_length = sizeof(id_reg);
>>> 399
>>> 400                 init_completion(&card->mrq_complete);
>>> 401
>>> 402                 host->card = card;
>>> 403                 if (memstick_set_rw_addr(card))
>>> 404                         goto err_out;
>>> 405
>>> 406                 card->next_request = h_memstick_read_dev_id;
>>> 407                 memstick_new_req(host);
>>> 408                 wait_for_completion(&card->mrq_complete);
>>> 409
>>> 410                 if (card->current_mrq.error)
>>> 411                         goto err_out;
>>> 412         }
>>> 413         host->card = old_card;
>>> 414         return card;
>>> 415 err_out:
>>> 416         host->card = old_card;
>>> 421         kfree(card);
>>> 422         return NULL;
>>> 423 }
>>>
>>> This little patch fixes it, also at the release() method.
>>>
>>> However, release() had not yet been tested, and I am not certain that in that case
>>> kobj->name would not be kfree_const()-ed automatically.
>>>
>>> Maybe it ought to be separated in two independent patches?
>>>
>>> diff --git a/drivers/memstick/core/memstick.c b/drivers/memstick/core/memstick.c
>>> index bf7667845459..403ab06e3ffa 100644
>>> --- a/drivers/memstick/core/memstick.c
>>> +++ b/drivers/memstick/core/memstick.c
>>> @@ -191,6 +191,10 @@ static void memstick_free_card(struct device *dev)
>>>  {
>>>         struct memstick_dev *card = container_of(dev, struct memstick_dev,
>>>                                                  dev);
>>> +       if ((card->dev).kobj.name) {
>>> +               kfree_const((card->dev).kobj.name);
>>> +               (card->dev).kobj.name = NULL;
>>> +       }
>>>         kfree(card);
>>>  }
>>>
>>> @@ -410,6 +414,10 @@ static struct memstick_dev *memstick_alloc_card(struct memstick_host *host)
>>>         return card;
>>>  err_out:
>>>         host->card = old_card;
>>> +       if ((card->dev).kobj.name) {
>>> +               kfree_const((card->dev).kobj.name);
>>> +               (card->dev).kobj.name = NULL;
>>> +       }
>>>         kfree(card);
>>>         return NULL;
>>>  }
>>>
>>> This morning I did not feel like we'd fix two memory leaks today.
>>>
>>> This one was a nag for three months :-)
>>>
>>> Of course, this requires peer review. The fact that it fixed the /sys/kernel/debug/kmemleak
>>> output doesn't mean that it wouldn't break something, does it?
>>>
>>> It is clearly the good wind of the Providence.
>>
>> This is the second version of the patch, without the paranoid parentheses.
>>
>> I am still in the process of convincing Thunderbird not to convert tabs to
>> spaces, so please use --ignore-whitespace when testing this patch. :-(
>>
>> ---
>> drivers/memstick/core/memstick.c | 8 ++++++++
>> 1 file changed, 8 insertions(+)
>>
>> diff --git a/drivers/memstick/core/memstick.c b/drivers/memstick/core/memstick.c
>> index bf7667845459..390287c23f27 100644
>> --- a/drivers/memstick/core/memstick.c
>> +++ b/drivers/memstick/core/memstick.c
>> @@ -191,6 +191,10 @@ static void memstick_free_card(struct device *dev)
>> {
>> struct memstick_dev *card = container_of(dev, struct memstick_dev,
>> dev);
>> + if (card->dev.kobj.name) {
>> + kfree_const(card->dev.kobj.name);
>
> Ick, no, please don't mess around with a kobject name from within a
> driver like this. That's indicitave that something else is really
> wrong.
>
> Yes, the nvme core code does it, but it shouldn't.
>
> Hm, the driver core does it in two places too, that's not good, I'll
> look at fixing that up too.
>
> This patch is implying that anyone who calls "dev_set_name()" also has
> to do this hack, which shouldn't be the case at all.
>
> thanks,
>
> greg k-h

This is my best guess. Unless there is dev_free_name() or kobject_free_name(), I don't
see a more sensible way to patch this up.

This fix patches the leak for me, and I am running thorough `make kselftest` ATM.

Apparently, struct kobject is a member of struct device, which is a member of
struct memstick_dev (those are not pointers so that they would require object destruction).

However, IMHO; if the card-dev.kobj.name is not freed explicitly, it will be left
orphaned if the parent kobject is freed together with struct device and struct memstick_dev.

Please consider the following patch RFC (not an formal patch submission):

---
drivers/memstick/core/memstick.c | 9 ++++++++-
1 file changed, 8 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/drivers/memstick/core/memstick.c b/drivers/memstick/core/memstick.c
index bf7667845459..5bfefdfbeca9 100644
--- a/drivers/memstick/core/memstick.c
+++ b/drivers/memstick/core/memstick.c
@@ -191,6 +191,8 @@ static void memstick_free_card(struct device *dev)
{
struct memstick_dev *card = container_of(dev, struct memstick_dev,
dev);
+ if (dev_name(&card->dev))
+ kfree_const(dev_name(&card->dev));
kfree(card);
}

@@ -410,6 +412,8 @@ static struct memstick_dev *memstick_alloc_card(struct memstick_host *host)
return card;
err_out:
host->card = old_card;
+ if (dev_name(&card->dev))
+ kfree_const(dev_name(&card->dev));
kfree(card);
return NULL;
}
@@ -468,8 +472,11 @@ static void memstick_check(struct work_struct *work)
put_device(&card->dev);
host->card = NULL;
}
- } else
+ } else {
+ if (dev_name(&card->dev))
+ kfree_const(dev_name(&card->dev));
kfree(card);
+ }
}

out_power_off:
--

Kind regards,
Mirsad

--
Mirsad Goran Todorovac
Sistem inženjer
Grafički fakultet | Akademija likovnih umjetnosti
Sveučilište u Zagrebu

System engineer
Faculty of Graphic Arts | Academy of Fine Arts
University of Zagreb, Republic of Croatia
The European Union

"I see something approaching fast ... Will it be friends with me?"