[PATCH] Fix refcount bug in time scheduled paths
From: Hithashree Bojanala
Date: Fri Nov 28 2025 - 11:40:54 EST
The SCTP heartbeat timer callback can cause a refcount underflow when
rescheduling the timer. The issue occurs when mod_timer() is called
inside sctp_generate_heartbeat_event() to reschedule an already-pending
timer.
The current approach only takes a reference if mod_timer() returns 0
(timer was not pending). However, when rescheduling inside a timer
callback, we're consuming the reference that was held for the current
timer firing. If we reschedule without taking a new reference, the
subsequent timer callback will do sctp_transport_put() without a
corresponding hold, leading to refcount underflow.
The fix is to always take a reference when rescheduling inside a timer
callback, since the callback will always drop a reference at the end.
Reported-by: syzbot+e94b93511bda261f4c43@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Fixes: https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=e94b93511bda261f4c43
Signed-off-by: Hithashree Bojanala <bojanalahithashri@xxxxxxxxx>
---
net/sctp/sm_sideeffect.c | 13 ++++++++-----
1 file changed, 8 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)
diff --git a/net/sctp/sm_sideeffect.c b/net/sctp/sm_sideeffect.c
index 424f10a6fdba..733617781ed9 100644
--- a/net/sctp/sm_sideeffect.c
+++ b/net/sctp/sm_sideeffect.c
@@ -377,9 +377,10 @@ void sctp_generate_heartbeat_event(struct timer_list *t)
if (sock_owned_by_user(sk)) {
pr_debug("%s: sock is busy\n", __func__);
- /* Try again later. */
- if (!mod_timer(&transport->hb_timer, jiffies + (HZ/20)))
- sctp_transport_hold(transport);
+ /* Always hold a reference when rescheduling inside timer callback
+ * because this callback will put the reference at the end */
+ sctp_transport_hold(transport);
+ mod_timer(&transport->hb_timer, jiffies + (HZ/20));
goto out_unlock;
}
@@ -388,8 +389,10 @@ void sctp_generate_heartbeat_event(struct timer_list *t)
timeout = sctp_transport_timeout(transport);
if (elapsed < timeout) {
elapsed = timeout - elapsed;
- if (!mod_timer(&transport->hb_timer, jiffies + elapsed))
- sctp_transport_hold(transport);
+ /* Always hold a reference when rescheduling inside timer callback
+ * because this callback will put the reference at the end*/
+ sctp_transport_hold(transport);
+ mod_timer(&transport->hb_timer, jiffies + elapsed);
goto out_unlock;
}
--
2.47.0