]> git.ipfire.org Git - thirdparty/kernel/linux.git/commitdiff
sched/psi: fix race between file release and pressure write
authorEdward Adam Davis <eadavis@qq.com>
Tue, 14 Apr 2026 06:15:43 +0000 (14:15 +0800)
committerTejun Heo <tj@kernel.org>
Fri, 17 Apr 2026 17:25:09 +0000 (07:25 -1000)
A potential race condition exists between pressure write and cgroup file
release regarding the priv member of struct kernfs_open_file, which
triggers the uaf reported in [1].

Consider the following scenario involving execution on two separate CPUs:

   CPU0 CPU1
   ==== ====
vfs_rmdir()
kernfs_iop_rmdir()
cgroup_rmdir()
cgroup_kn_lock_live()
cgroup_destroy_locked()
cgroup_addrm_files()
cgroup_rm_file()
kernfs_remove_by_name()
kernfs_remove_by_name_ns()
 vfs_write() __kernfs_remove()
 new_sync_write() kernfs_drain()
 kernfs_fop_write_iter() kernfs_drain_open_files()
 cgroup_file_write() kernfs_release_file()
 pressure_write() cgroup_file_release()
 ctx = of->priv;
kfree(ctx);
  of->priv = NULL;
cgroup_kn_unlock()
 cgroup_kn_lock_live()
 cgroup_get(cgrp)
 cgroup_kn_unlock()
 if (ctx->psi.trigger)  // here, trigger uaf for ctx, that is of->priv

The cgroup_rmdir() is protected by the cgroup_mutex, it also safeguards
the memory deallocation of of->priv performed within cgroup_file_release().
However, the operations involving of->priv executed within pressure_write()
are not entirely covered by the protection of cgroup_mutex. Consequently,
if the code in pressure_write(), specifically the section handling the
ctx variable executes after cgroup_file_release() has completed, a uaf
vulnerability involving of->priv is triggered.

Therefore, the issue can be resolved by extending the scope of the
cgroup_mutex lock within pressure_write() to encompass all code paths
involving of->priv, thereby properly synchronizing the race condition
occurring between cgroup_file_release() and pressure_write().

And, if an live kn lock can be successfully acquired while executing
the pressure write operation, it indicates that the cgroup deletion
process has not yet reached its final stage; consequently, the priv
pointer within open_file cannot be NULL. Therefore, the operation to
retrieve the ctx value must be moved to a point *after* the live kn
lock has been successfully acquired.

In another situation, specifically after entering cgroup_kn_lock_live()
but before acquiring cgroup_mutex, there exists a different class of
race condition:

CPU0: write memory.pressure               CPU1: write cgroup.pressure=0
===========================   =============================

kernfs_fop_write_iter()
 kernfs_get_active_of(of)
 pressure_write()
   cgroup_kn_lock_live(memory.pressure)
     cgroup_tryget(cgrp)
     kernfs_break_active_protection(kn)
     ... blocks on cgroup_mutex

                                        cgroup_pressure_write()
                                        cgroup_kn_lock_live(cgroup.pressure)
                                        cgroup_file_show(memory.pressure, false)
                                          kernfs_show(false)
                                            kernfs_drain_open_files()
                                              cgroup_file_release(of)
                                                kfree(ctx)
                                                  of->priv = NULL
                                        cgroup_kn_unlock()

   ... acquires cgroup_mutex
   ctx = of->priv;        // may now be NULL
   if (ctx->psi.trigger)  // NULL dereference

Consequently, there is a possibility that of->priv is NULL, the pressure
write needs to check for this.

Now that the scope of the cgroup_mutex has been expanded, the original
explicit cgroup_get/put operations are no longer necessary, this is
because acquiring/releasing the live kn lock inherently executes a
cgroup get/put operation.

[1]
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in pressure_write+0xa4/0x210 kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c:4011
Call Trace:
 pressure_write+0xa4/0x210 kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c:4011
 cgroup_file_write+0x36f/0x790 kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c:4311
 kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x3b0/0x540 fs/kernfs/file.c:352

Allocated by task 9352:
 cgroup_file_open+0x90/0x3a0 kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c:4256
 kernfs_fop_open+0x9eb/0xcb0 fs/kernfs/file.c:724
 do_dentry_open+0x83d/0x13e0 fs/open.c:949

Freed by task 9353:
 cgroup_file_release+0xd6/0x100 kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c:4283
 kernfs_release_file fs/kernfs/file.c:764 [inline]
 kernfs_drain_open_files+0x392/0x720 fs/kernfs/file.c:834
 kernfs_drain+0x470/0x600 fs/kernfs/dir.c:525

Fixes: 0e94682b73bf ("psi: introduce psi monitor")
Reported-by: syzbot+33e571025d88efd1312c@syzkaller.appspotmail.com
Closes: https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=33e571025d88efd1312c
Tested-by: syzbot+33e571025d88efd1312c@syzkaller.appspotmail.com
Signed-off-by: Edward Adam Davis <eadavis@qq.com>
Reviewed-by: Chen Ridong <chenridong@huaweicloud.com>
Signed-off-by: Tejun Heo <tj@kernel.org>
kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c

index 1f084ee71443e6db5ee87f8213c150dc79290fc2..3243c2087ee33338216910725d51878bc397fef1 100644 (file)
@@ -3934,33 +3934,41 @@ static int cgroup_cpu_pressure_show(struct seq_file *seq, void *v)
 static ssize_t pressure_write(struct kernfs_open_file *of, char *buf,
                              size_t nbytes, enum psi_res res)
 {
-       struct cgroup_file_ctx *ctx = of->priv;
+       struct cgroup_file_ctx *ctx;
        struct psi_trigger *new;
        struct cgroup *cgrp;
        struct psi_group *psi;
+       ssize_t ret = 0;
 
        cgrp = cgroup_kn_lock_live(of->kn, false);
        if (!cgrp)
                return -ENODEV;
 
-       cgroup_get(cgrp);
-       cgroup_kn_unlock(of->kn);
+       ctx = of->priv;
+       if (!ctx) {
+               ret = -ENODEV;
+               goto out_unlock;
+       }
 
        /* Allow only one trigger per file descriptor */
        if (ctx->psi.trigger) {
-               cgroup_put(cgrp);
-               return -EBUSY;
+               ret = -EBUSY;
+               goto out_unlock;
        }
 
        psi = cgroup_psi(cgrp);
        new = psi_trigger_create(psi, buf, res, of->file, of);
        if (IS_ERR(new)) {
-               cgroup_put(cgrp);
-               return PTR_ERR(new);
+               ret = PTR_ERR(new);
+               goto out_unlock;
        }
 
        smp_store_release(&ctx->psi.trigger, new);
-       cgroup_put(cgrp);
+
+out_unlock:
+       cgroup_kn_unlock(of->kn);
+       if (ret)
+               return ret;
 
        return nbytes;
 }