[PATCH net v2] bonding: fix u32 overflow in compute_gap()

From: Hangbin Liu

Date: Fri Aug 14 2026 - 01:39:43 EST


From: Hangbin Liu <liuhangbin@xxxxxxxxxx>

The TLB fields tx_bytes, load_history, load, and unbalanced_load are
all u32, which can overflow when sustained throughput exceeds ~3.2
Gbit/s over the 10-second rebalance interval. On modern high-speed
NICs under heavy load this is easily reached, causing the gap
calculation in compute_gap() to wrap and produce incorrect slave
selection.

Widen these fields to s64 so the load arithmetic stays correct.
This also lets compute_gap() naturally return negative values when a
slave is oversubscribed, which the existing max-gap selection already
handles.

Additionally, the NIC speed is left-shifted before being cast to s64.
For speeds >= 4 Gbit/s (slave->speed >= 4096), the u32 shift
(4096 << 20 = 0x100000000) overflows before the cast takes effect.
Cast slave->speed to s64 before shifting so the arithmetic is
performed in 64 bits throughout.

Also cast SPEED_UNKNOWN to 0; otherwise, it would be the largest speed
after the shift.

Detected by AI code review.

Fixes: 1da177e4c3f4 ("Linux-2.6.12-rc2")
Signed-off-by: Hangbin Liu <liuhangbin@xxxxxxxxxx>
---
Changes in v2:
- update comment description, including AI-detected info.
- fix tx_bytes/load type detected by sashiko
- cast SPEED_UNKNOWN to 0 before shift, detected by sashiko
- Link to v1: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20260810-bond_overflow-v1-1-c9ff29d76770@xxxxxxxxxx
---
drivers/net/bonding/bond_alb.c | 12 ++++++++++--
include/net/bond_alb.h | 8 ++++----
2 files changed, 14 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)

diff --git a/drivers/net/bonding/bond_alb.c b/drivers/net/bonding/bond_alb.c
index 839f7482dc18..052ab6beb661 100644
--- a/drivers/net/bonding/bond_alb.c
+++ b/drivers/net/bonding/bond_alb.c
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
#include <linux/skbuff.h>
#include <linux/netdevice.h>
#include <linux/etherdevice.h>
+#include <linux/ethtool.h>
#include <linux/pkt_sched.h>
#include <linux/spinlock.h>
#include <linux/slab.h>
@@ -160,8 +161,15 @@ static void tlb_deinitialize(struct bonding *bond)

static long long compute_gap(struct slave *slave)
{
- return (s64) (slave->speed << 20) - /* Convert to Megabit per sec */
- (s64) (SLAVE_TLB_INFO(slave).load << 3); /* Bytes to bits */
+ s64 speed;
+
+ if (slave->speed == SPEED_UNKNOWN)
+ speed = 0;
+ else
+ speed = (s64)slave->speed;
+
+ return (speed << 20) - /* Mbit/s -> bit/s */
+ (SLAVE_TLB_INFO(slave).load << 3); /* Byte/s -> bit/s */
}

static struct slave *tlb_get_least_loaded_slave(struct bonding *bond)
diff --git a/include/net/bond_alb.h b/include/net/bond_alb.h
index e5945427f38d..4933a855a438 100644
--- a/include/net/bond_alb.h
+++ b/include/net/bond_alb.h
@@ -57,12 +57,12 @@ struct tlb_client_info {
* packets to a Client that the Hash function
* gave this entry index.
*/
- u32 tx_bytes; /* Each Client accumulates the BytesTx that
+ s64 tx_bytes; /* Each Client accumulates the BytesTx that
* were transmitted to it, and after each
* CallBack the LoadHistory is divided
* by the balance interval
*/
- u32 load_history; /* This field contains the amount of Bytes
+ s64 load_history; /* This field contains the amount of Bytes
* that were transmitted to this client by
* the server on the previous balance
* interval in Bps.
@@ -118,14 +118,14 @@ struct tlb_slave_info {
* are the entries that were assigned to use this
* slave for transmit.
*/
- u32 load; /* Each slave sums the loadHistory of all clients
+ s64 load; /* Each slave sums the loadHistory of all clients
* assigned to it
*/
};

struct alb_bond_info {
struct tlb_client_info *tx_hashtbl; /* Dynamically allocated */
- u32 unbalanced_load;
+ s64 unbalanced_load;
atomic_t tx_rebalance_counter;
int lp_counter;
/* -------- rlb parameters -------- */

---
base-commit: 447c9303942c439a117d9b76ce6d6e2116b38ee7
change-id: 20260806-bond_overflow-ac6a6a78d6a0

Best regards,
--
Hangbin Liu <liuhangbin@xxxxxxxxxx>