[PATCH 1/2] pps: generators: fix use-after-free when closing a removed device
From: Danish Khateeb
Date: Mon Sep 28 2026 - 22:27:13 EST
The cdev of a PPS generator is embedded in struct pps_gen_device, but
nothing ties the lifetime of that structure to the cdev: pps_gen is
freed by the release function of its device, and an open file holds a
device reference only until pps_gen_cdev_release() drops it.
When the generator is unregistered while /dev/pps-genN is open, that
put_device() drops the last reference and frees pps_gen, and __fput()
then calls cdev_put() on the freed cdev:
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in cdev_put+0x53/0x60
Read of size 8 at addr ffff88801383e138 by task ppsgen64/149
Call Trace:
cdev_put+0x53/0x60
__fput+0x745/0xad0
fput_close_sync+0xd9/0x1b0
__x64_sys_close+0x86/0xf0
...
Freed by task 149:
kfree+0x25a/0x6d0
device_release+0xca/0x3c0
kobject_put+0x169/0x320
pps_gen_cdev_release+0x51/0x80
__fput+0x36a/0xad0
pps.c had the same bug, fixed in commit c79a39dc8d06 ("pps: Fix a
use-after-free").
Fix it the usual way: embed the struct device in pps_gen_device and
register both with cdev_device_add(). This makes the device the parent
of the cdev, so the cdev holds a device reference until the last file
is closed.
Fixes: 86b525bed275 ("drivers pps: add PPS generators support")
Cc: stable@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Assisted-by: LLM
Signed-off-by: Danish Khateeb <danishkhateeb03@xxxxxxxxx>
---
Notes:
Tested in QEMU (virtme-ng, x86_64, KASAN with kasan_multi_shot, lockdep)
on v7.3-rc5. pps_gen_tio needs ART and can't probe in a VM, so the test
uses a small platform driver that registers its generator the way TIO
does. Unbinding it while /dev/pps-gen0 is open gives the cdev_put()
report above; with this patch it is gone.
The new registration error paths were run too, under KASAN and kmemleak:
a 17th generator (-ENOSPC), and failslab fail-nth over each allocation
of a bind (dev_set_name(), cdev_add(), device_add()). No reports and no
leaks.
drivers/pps/generators/pps_gen.c | 63 ++++++++++++++++----------------
include/linux/pps_gen_kernel.h | 2 +-
2 files changed, 32 insertions(+), 33 deletions(-)
diff --git a/drivers/pps/generators/pps_gen.c b/drivers/pps/generators/pps_gen.c
index 5e207c75e340..059f4fe6c9b4 100644
--- a/drivers/pps/generators/pps_gen.c
+++ b/drivers/pps/generators/pps_gen.c
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ static long pps_gen_cdev_ioctl(struct file *file,
switch (cmd) {
case PPS_GEN_SETENABLE:
- dev_dbg(pps_gen->dev, "PPS_GEN_SETENABLE\n");
+ dev_dbg(&pps_gen->dev, "PPS_GEN_SETENABLE\n");
ret = get_user(status, uiuarg);
if (ret)
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ static long pps_gen_cdev_ioctl(struct file *file,
break;
case PPS_GEN_USESYSTEMCLOCK:
- dev_dbg(pps_gen->dev, "PPS_GEN_USESYSTEMCLOCK\n");
+ dev_dbg(&pps_gen->dev, "PPS_GEN_USESYSTEMCLOCK\n");
ret = put_user(pps_gen->info->use_system_clock, uiuarg);
if (ret)
@@ -89,12 +89,12 @@ static long pps_gen_cdev_ioctl(struct file *file,
struct pps_gen_event info;
unsigned int ev = pps_gen->last_ev;
- dev_dbg(pps_gen->dev, "PPS_GEN_FETCHEVENT\n");
+ dev_dbg(&pps_gen->dev, "PPS_GEN_FETCHEVENT\n");
ret = wait_event_interruptible(pps_gen->queue,
ev != pps_gen->last_ev);
if (ret == -ERESTARTSYS) {
- dev_dbg(pps_gen->dev, "pending signal caught\n");
+ dev_dbg(&pps_gen->dev, "pending signal caught\n");
return -EINTR;
}
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ static int pps_gen_cdev_open(struct inode *inode, struct file *file)
struct pps_gen_device *pps_gen = container_of(inode->i_cdev,
struct pps_gen_device, cdev);
- get_device(pps_gen->dev);
+ get_device(&pps_gen->dev);
file->private_data = pps_gen;
return 0;
}
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ static int pps_gen_cdev_release(struct inode *inode, struct file *file)
{
struct pps_gen_device *pps_gen = file->private_data;
- put_device(pps_gen->dev);
+ put_device(&pps_gen->dev);
return 0;
}
@@ -151,19 +151,15 @@ static void pps_gen_device_destruct(struct device *dev)
{
struct pps_gen_device *pps_gen = dev_get_drvdata(dev);
- cdev_del(&pps_gen->cdev);
-
pr_debug("deallocating pps-gen%d\n", pps_gen->id);
ida_free(&pps_gen_ida, pps_gen->id);
- kfree(dev);
kfree(pps_gen);
}
static int pps_gen_register_cdev(struct pps_gen_device *pps_gen)
{
int err;
- dev_t devt;
err = ida_alloc_max(&pps_gen_ida, PPS_GEN_MAX_SOURCES - 1, GFP_KERNEL);
if (err < 0) {
@@ -171,46 +167,52 @@ static int pps_gen_register_cdev(struct pps_gen_device *pps_gen)
pr_err("too many PPS sources in the system\n");
err = -EBUSY;
}
+ kfree(pps_gen);
return err;
}
pps_gen->id = err;
- devt = MKDEV(MAJOR(pps_gen_devt), pps_gen->id);
+ /*
+ * From here on pps_gen belongs to its device and is freed by
+ * pps_gen_device_destruct(). The cdev holds a reference to the
+ * device, so pps_gen stays around until the last file is closed.
+ */
+ device_initialize(&pps_gen->dev);
+ pps_gen->dev.class = &pps_gen_class;
+ pps_gen->dev.parent = pps_gen->info->parent;
+ pps_gen->dev.devt = MKDEV(MAJOR(pps_gen_devt), pps_gen->id);
+ pps_gen->dev.release = pps_gen_device_destruct;
+ dev_set_drvdata(&pps_gen->dev, pps_gen);
cdev_init(&pps_gen->cdev, &pps_gen_cdev_fops);
pps_gen->cdev.owner = pps_gen->info->owner;
- err = cdev_add(&pps_gen->cdev, devt, 1);
+ err = dev_set_name(&pps_gen->dev, "pps-gen%d", pps_gen->id);
+ if (err)
+ goto put_dev;
+
+ err = cdev_device_add(&pps_gen->cdev, &pps_gen->dev);
if (err) {
pr_err("failed to add char device %d:%d\n",
MAJOR(pps_gen_devt), pps_gen->id);
- goto free_ida;
+ goto put_dev;
}
- pps_gen->dev = device_create(&pps_gen_class, pps_gen->info->parent, devt,
- pps_gen, "pps-gen%d", pps_gen->id);
- if (IS_ERR(pps_gen->dev)) {
- err = PTR_ERR(pps_gen->dev);
- goto del_cdev;
- }
- pps_gen->dev->release = pps_gen_device_destruct;
- dev_set_drvdata(pps_gen->dev, pps_gen);
pr_debug("generator got cdev (%d:%d)\n",
MAJOR(pps_gen_devt), pps_gen->id);
return 0;
-del_cdev:
- cdev_del(&pps_gen->cdev);
-free_ida:
- ida_free(&pps_gen_ida, pps_gen->id);
+put_dev:
+ put_device(&pps_gen->dev);
return err;
}
static void pps_gen_unregister_cdev(struct pps_gen_device *pps_gen)
{
pr_debug("unregistering pps-gen%d\n", pps_gen->id);
- device_destroy(&pps_gen_class, pps_gen->dev->devt);
+ cdev_device_del(&pps_gen->cdev, &pps_gen->dev);
+ put_device(&pps_gen->dev);
}
/*
@@ -244,18 +246,15 @@ struct pps_gen_device *pps_gen_register_source(const struct pps_gen_source_info
init_waitqueue_head(&pps_gen->queue);
spin_lock_init(&pps_gen->lock);
- /* Create the char device */
+ /* Create the char device, this frees pps_gen on failure */
err = pps_gen_register_cdev(pps_gen);
if (err < 0) {
pr_err(" unable to create char device\n");
- goto kfree_pps_gen;
+ goto pps_gen_register_source_exit;
}
return pps_gen;
-kfree_pps_gen:
- kfree(pps_gen);
-
pps_gen_register_source_exit:
pr_err("unable to register generator\n");
@@ -289,7 +288,7 @@ void pps_gen_event(struct pps_gen_device *pps_gen,
{
unsigned long flags;
- dev_dbg(pps_gen->dev, "PPS generator event %u\n", event);
+ dev_dbg(&pps_gen->dev, "PPS generator event %u\n", event);
spin_lock_irqsave(&pps_gen->lock, flags);
diff --git a/include/linux/pps_gen_kernel.h b/include/linux/pps_gen_kernel.h
index 6214c8aa2e02..f26f6aac000d 100644
--- a/include/linux/pps_gen_kernel.h
+++ b/include/linux/pps_gen_kernel.h
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ struct pps_gen_device {
unsigned int id; /* PPS generator unique ID */
struct cdev cdev;
- struct device *dev;
+ struct device dev;
struct fasync_struct *async_queue; /* fasync method */
spinlock_t lock;
};
--
2.55.0