[PATCH v3] hfsplus: return error when node already exists in hfs_bnode_create
From: Shardul Bankar
Date: Mon Dec 29 2025 - 15:50:30 EST
When hfs_bnode_create() finds that a node is already hashed (which should
not happen in normal operation), it currently returns the existing node
without incrementing its reference count. This causes a reference count
inconsistency that leads to a kernel panic when the node is later freed
in hfs_bnode_put():
kernel BUG at fs/hfsplus/bnode.c:676!
BUG_ON(!atomic_read(&node->refcnt))
This scenario can occur when hfs_bmap_alloc() attempts to allocate a node
that is already in use (e.g., when node 0's bitmap bit is incorrectly
unset), or due to filesystem corruption.
Returning an existing node from a create path is not normal operation.
Fix this by returning ERR_PTR(-EEXIST) instead of the node when it's
already hashed. This properly signals the error condition to callers,
which already check for IS_ERR() return values.
Reported-by: syzbot+1c8ff72d0cd8a50dfeaa@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Link: https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=1c8ff72d0cd8a50dfeaa
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/784415834694f39902088fa8946850fc1779a318.camel@xxxxxxx/
Fixes: 634725a92938 ("[PATCH] hfs: cleanup HFS+ prints")
Signed-off-by: Shardul Bankar <shardul.b@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
---
v3 changes:
- This is posted standalone as discussed in the v2 thread.
v2 changes:
- Implement Slava's suggestion: return ERR_PTR(-EEXIST) for already-hashed nodes.
- Keep the node-0 allocation guard as a minimal, targeted hardening measure.
fs/hfsplus/bnode.c | 2 +-
1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)
diff --git a/fs/hfsplus/bnode.c b/fs/hfsplus/bnode.c
index 191661af9677..250a226336ea 100644
--- a/fs/hfsplus/bnode.c
+++ b/fs/hfsplus/bnode.c
@@ -629,7 +629,7 @@ struct hfs_bnode *hfs_bnode_create(struct hfs_btree *tree, u32 num)
if (node) {
pr_crit("new node %u already hashed?\n", num);
WARN_ON(1);
- return node;
+ return ERR_PTR(-EEXIST);
}
node = __hfs_bnode_create(tree, num);
if (!node)
--
2.34.1