Re: [PATCH] USB: core: replace kmalloc + copy_from_user with memdup_user

From: Oliver Neukum
Date: Wed Oct 08 2025 - 17:24:16 EST


Hi,

On 19.09.25 13:56, Thorsten Blum wrote:
Replace kmalloc() followed by copy_from_user() with memdup_user() to
simplify and improve proc_do_submiturb(). Replace the hard-coded 8 bytes
with the size of 'struct usb_ctrlrequest'.

Return early if an error occurs, and avoid manually setting 'ret' and
using 'goto error'.

No functional changes intended.

Signed-off-by: Thorsten Blum <thorsten.blum@xxxxxxxxx>
---
drivers/usb/core/devio.c | 10 +++-------
1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)

diff --git a/drivers/usb/core/devio.c b/drivers/usb/core/devio.c
index f6ce6e26e0d4..3bc54a5c59ff 100644
--- a/drivers/usb/core/devio.c
+++ b/drivers/usb/core/devio.c
@@ -1670,13 +1670,9 @@ static int proc_do_submiturb(struct usb_dev_state *ps, struct usbdevfs_urb *uurb
/* min 8 byte setup packet */
if (uurb->buffer_length < 8)
return -EINVAL;
- dr = kmalloc(sizeof(struct usb_ctrlrequest), GFP_KERNEL);
- if (!dr)
- return -ENOMEM;
- if (copy_from_user(dr, uurb->buffer, 8)) {
- ret = -EFAULT;
- goto error;
- }
+ dr = memdup_user(uurb->buffer, sizeof(struct usb_ctrlrequest));

You cannot do this. User space cannot and must not know or care how long
struct usb_ctrlrequest is. It is a data structure internal to the kernel.
For the purpose of this API we copy 8 bytes. That is set in stone.
If the kernel's data structure ever changes length, we will have
to define a new ioctl.

You have to leave the literal 8.

Regards
Oliver