[PATCH net v3] tls: restrict device-down TX fallback to hardware TX sockets
From: Rishikesh Jethwani
Date: Wed Nov 04 2026 - 18:28:02 EST
tls_device_down() installs tls_validate_xmit_skb_sw() on every socket
offloaded in either direction, but tls_sw_fallback() needs a hardware TX
context in priv_ctx_tx. An RX-only socket's NULL priv_ctx_tx crashes the
fallback on its next transmit, for instance after the device comes back
up:
BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000008
RIP: 0010:_raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x31/0x60
tls_sw_fallback+0x11b/0x450
validate_xmit_skb.isra.0+0x14f/0x420
__dev_queue_xmit+0x5e8/0xf30
A software-TX socket's tls_sw_context_tx would likewise be walked as a
hardware context.
Only install the fallback when tx_conf is TLS_HW. For that check to be
reliable, tls_set_device_offload() must publish the validator and
tx_conf before dropping device_offload_lock. Today it drops the lock
first, and do_tls_setsockopt_conf() sets tx_conf later, under lock_sock
only. A NETDEV_DOWN in that window sees TLS_BASE: with the new check it
would leave the hardware validator in place with ctx->netdev cleared,
and it already skips tls_dev_del(TX), leaking the driver TX context,
since the destructor only queues it while ctx->netdev is set. rx_conf
has the same window and leaks the driver RX context, as
tls_device_offload_cleanup_rx() skips tls_dev_del() once ctx->netdev is
NULL, so set it under the lock in tls_set_device_offload_rx() too.
Also do the switch in the first loop, under tls_device_lock. The second
loop runs after that lock is dropped, and its reference pins the
tls_context but not ctx->sk. A socket with only TX offloaded can be
closed meanwhile: tls_device_queue_ctx_destruction() drops its reference
and returns early, __sk_destruct() frees the socket, and the write lands
in freed SLAB_TYPESAFE_BY_RCU memory. A context whose refcount can still
be raised under tls_device_lock has not been through
tls_device_queue_ctx_destruction(), which takes that lock, so ctx->sk is
valid there. Later contexts now switch before earlier ones are torn
down, which the fallback allows.
The NULL dereference was reproduced on an RX-only socket, which now
survives an interface down/up cycle and keeps receiving TLS records. The
software-TX case, the setsockopt/NETDEV_DOWN races and the
use-after-free are from code inspection.
Fixes: c55dcdd435aa ("net/tls: Fix use-after-free after the TLS device goes down and up")
Fixes: 4799ac81e52a ("tls: Add rx inline crypto offload")
Signed-off-by: Rishikesh Jethwani <rjethwani@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
---
net/tls/tls_device.c | 24 +++++++++++++++++-------
1 file changed, 17 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)
diff --git a/net/tls/tls_device.c b/net/tls/tls_device.c
index 4cdfbb57ecff..8cfad667c43c 100644
--- a/net/tls/tls_device.c
+++ b/net/tls/tls_device.c
@@ -1195,13 +1195,15 @@ int tls_set_device_offload(struct sock *sk)
goto release_lock;
tls_device_attach(ctx, sk, netdev);
- up_read(&device_offload_lock);
/* following this assignment tls_is_skb_tx_device_offloaded
* will return true and the context might be accessed
- * by the netdev's xmit function.
+ * by the netdev's xmit function. Set it and tx_conf under
+ * device_offload_lock so tls_device_down() sees both or neither.
*/
smp_store_release(&sk->sk_validate_xmit_skb, tls_validate_xmit_skb);
+ ctx->tx_conf = TLS_HW;
+ up_read(&device_offload_lock);
dev_put(netdev);
return 0;
@@ -1282,6 +1284,10 @@ int tls_set_device_offload_rx(struct sock *sk, struct tls_context *ctx)
goto free_sw_resources;
tls_device_attach(ctx, sk, netdev);
+ /* Set under device_offload_lock so tls_device_down() also
+ * releases the driver RX context.
+ */
+ ctx->rx_conf = TLS_HW;
up_read(&device_offload_lock);
dev_put(netdev);
@@ -1345,16 +1351,20 @@ static int tls_device_down(struct net_device *netdev)
!refcount_inc_not_zero(&ctx->refcount))
continue;
+ /* Stop offloaded TX and switch to the fallback.
+ * tls_is_skb_tx_device_offloaded will return false.
+ * Only HW TX sockets have the context it needs. Do it under
+ * tls_device_lock: the reference pins ctx, not ctx->sk.
+ */
+ if (ctx->tx_conf == TLS_HW)
+ WRITE_ONCE(ctx->sk->sk_validate_xmit_skb,
+ tls_validate_xmit_skb_sw);
+
list_move(&ctx->list, &list);
}
spin_unlock_irqrestore(&tls_device_lock, flags);
list_for_each_entry_safe(ctx, tmp, &list, list) {
- /* Stop offloaded TX and switch to the fallback.
- * tls_is_skb_tx_device_offloaded will return false.
- */
- WRITE_ONCE(ctx->sk->sk_validate_xmit_skb, tls_validate_xmit_skb_sw);
-
/* Stop the RX and TX resync.
* tls_dev_resync must not be called after tls_dev_del.
*/
--
2.50.1