[PATCH 6.6.y 2/2] ALSA: aloop: Fix peer runtime UAF during format-change stop

From: Karl Mehltretter

Date: Tue Sep 01 2026 - 05:02:36 EST


From: Cássio Gabriel <cassiogabrielcontato@xxxxxxxxx>

[ Upstream commit e5c33cdc6f402eab8abd36ecf436b22c9d3a8aff ]

loopback_check_format() may stop the capture side when playback starts
with parameters that no longer match a running capture stream. Commit
826af7fa62e3 ("ALSA: aloop: Fix racy access at PCM trigger") moved
the peer lookup under cable->lock, but the actual snd_pcm_stop() still
runs after dropping that lock.

A concurrent close can clear the capture entry from cable->streams[] and
detach or free its runtime while the playback trigger path still holds a
stale peer substream pointer.

Keep a per-cable count of in-flight peer stops before dropping
cable->lock, and make free_cable() wait for those stops before
detaching the runtime. This preserves the existing behavior while
making the peer runtime lifetime explicit.

Reported-by: syzbot+8fa95c41eafbc9d2ff6f@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Closes: https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=8fa95c41eafbc9d2ff6f
Fixes: 597603d615d2 ("ALSA: introduce the snd-aloop module for the PCM loopback")
Cc: stable@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Suggested-by: Takashi Iwai <tiwai@xxxxxxxx>
Signed-off-by: Cássio Gabriel <cassiogabrielcontato@xxxxxxxxx>
Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260424-alsa-aloop-peer-stop-uaf-v2-1-94e68101db8a@xxxxxxxxx
Signed-off-by: Takashi Iwai <tiwai@xxxxxxx>
[ used scoped_guard(spinlock_irq) instead of guard(spinlock_irq) ]
Signed-off-by: Sasha Levin <sashal@xxxxxxxxxx>
[ Karl Mehltretter: 6.12.y commit 03f52a9c1704 applies to 6.1.y/6.6.y
unchanged; identical patch-id. ]
Assisted-by: LLM
Signed-off-by: Karl Mehltretter <kmehltretter@xxxxxxxxx>
---
sound/drivers/aloop.c | 44 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--------------
1 file changed, 30 insertions(+), 14 deletions(-)

diff --git a/sound/drivers/aloop.c b/sound/drivers/aloop.c
index 67bbadcec02b0..64870381d66ec 100644
--- a/sound/drivers/aloop.c
+++ b/sound/drivers/aloop.c
@@ -98,6 +98,9 @@ struct loopback_ops {
struct loopback_cable {
spinlock_t lock;
struct loopback_pcm *streams[2];
+ /* in-flight peer stops running outside cable->lock */
+ atomic_t stop_count;
+ wait_queue_head_t stop_wait;
struct snd_pcm_hardware hw;
/* flags */
unsigned int valid;
@@ -347,8 +350,11 @@ static int loopback_check_format(struct loopback_cable *cable, int stream)
return 0;
if (stream == SNDRV_PCM_STREAM_CAPTURE)
return -EIO;
- else if (cruntime->state == SNDRV_PCM_STATE_RUNNING)
+ else if (cruntime->state == SNDRV_PCM_STATE_RUNNING) {
+ /* close must not free the peer runtime below */
+ atomic_inc(&cable->stop_count);
stop_capture = true;
+ }
}

setup = get_setup(dpcm_play);
@@ -371,8 +377,11 @@ static int loopback_check_format(struct loopback_cable *cable, int stream)
}
}

- if (stop_capture)
+ if (stop_capture) {
snd_pcm_stop(dpcm_capt->substream, SNDRV_PCM_STATE_DRAINING);
+ if (atomic_dec_and_test(&cable->stop_count))
+ wake_up(&cable->stop_wait);
+ }

return 0;
}
@@ -1004,24 +1013,29 @@ static void free_cable(struct snd_pcm_substream *substream)
struct loopback *loopback = substream->private_data;
int dev = get_cable_index(substream);
struct loopback_cable *cable;
+ struct loopback_pcm *dpcm;
+ bool other_alive;

cable = loopback->cables[substream->number][dev];
if (!cable)
return;
- if (cable->streams[!substream->stream]) {
- /* other stream is still alive */
- spin_lock_irq(&cable->lock);
- cable->streams[substream->stream] = NULL;
- spin_unlock_irq(&cable->lock);
- } else {
- struct loopback_pcm *dpcm = substream->runtime->private_data;

- if (cable->ops && cable->ops->close_cable && dpcm)
- cable->ops->close_cable(dpcm);
- /* free the cable */
- loopback->cables[substream->number][dev] = NULL;
- kfree(cable);
+ scoped_guard(spinlock_irq, &cable->lock) {
+ cable->streams[substream->stream] = NULL;
+ other_alive = cable->streams[!substream->stream];
}
+
+ /* Pair with the stop_count increment in loopback_check_format(). */
+ wait_event(cable->stop_wait, !atomic_read(&cable->stop_count));
+ if (other_alive)
+ return;
+
+ dpcm = substream->runtime->private_data;
+ if (cable->ops && cable->ops->close_cable && dpcm)
+ cable->ops->close_cable(dpcm);
+ /* free the cable */
+ loopback->cables[substream->number][dev] = NULL;
+ kfree(cable);
}

static int loopback_jiffies_timer_open(struct loopback_pcm *dpcm)
@@ -1216,6 +1230,8 @@ static int loopback_open(struct snd_pcm_substream *substream)
goto unlock;
}
spin_lock_init(&cable->lock);
+ atomic_set(&cable->stop_count, 0);
+ init_waitqueue_head(&cable->stop_wait);
cable->hw = loopback_pcm_hardware;
if (loopback->timer_source)
cable->ops = &loopback_snd_timer_ops;
--
2.53.0