[BUG] fs/eventfd: Possible undefined behavior about read and eventfd interaction

From: ZhengYuan Huang
Date: Wed Nov 20 2024 - 00:40:49 EST


Hello,

Our dynamic analysis tool has encountered a potential issue with the
interaction between read and eventfd. Below is a minimal code snippet
to reproduce the behavior:

int main() {
int fd = syscall(__NR_eventfd, 1);
int ret = syscall(__NR_read, fd, 0x000fffffffffffff, 8);
assert(ret == -1); // invalid address
long value;
int ret2 = syscall(__NR_read, fd, &value, 8);
assert(0); // never reached here
return 0;
}

When read is called with an eventfd file descriptor and an invalid
address as the second argument, it fails and correctly returns an
"invalid address" error. However, the second read syscall does not
proceed; instead, it blocks indefinitely. This suggests that the
counter in the eventfd object is consumed by the first read syscall,
despite its failure.

I could not find any explanation for this behavior in the man pages
or the source code. Could you clarify if this behavior is expected,
or might it be a bug?

Thank you for your time and assistance. Please let me know if
further details or additional reproducer information are needed.

Best wishes,
ZhengYuan Huang