CVE-2022-49300

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

nbd: fix race between nbd_alloc_config() and module removal

When nbd module is being removing, nbd_alloc_config() may be called concurrently by nbd_genl_connect(), although try_module_get() will return false, but nbd_alloc_config() doesnt handle it.

The race may lead to the leak of nbd_config and its related resources (e.g, recv_workq) and oops in nbd_read_stat() due to the unload of nbd module as shown below:

BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000040 Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP PTI CPU: 5 PID: 13840 Comm: kworker/u17:33 Not tainted 5.14.0+ #1 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996) Workqueue: knbd16-recv recv_work [nbd] RIP: 0010:nbd_read_stat.cold+0x130/0x1a4 [nbd] Call Trace: recv_work+0x3b/0xb0 [nbd] process_one_work+0x1ed/0x390 worker_thread+0x4a/0x3d0 kthread+0x12a/0x150 ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30

Fixing it by checking the return value of try_module_get() in nbd_alloc_config(). As nbd_alloc_config() may return ERR_PTR(-ENODEV), assign nbd->config only when nbd_alloc_config() succeeds to ensure the value of nbd->config is binary (valid or NULL).

Also adding a debug message to check the reference counter of nbd_config during module removal.

Weakness

The product contains a code sequence that can run concurrently with other code, and the code sequence requires temporary, exclusive access to a shared resource, but a timing window exists in which the shared resource can be modified by another code sequence that is operating concurrently.

Affected Software

Extended Description

This can have security implications when the expected synchronization is in security-critical code, such as recording whether a user is authenticated or modifying important state information that should not be influenced by an outsider. A race condition occurs within concurrent environments, and is effectively a property of a code sequence. Depending on the context, a code sequence may be in the form of a function call, a small number of instructions, a series of program invocations, etc. A race condition violates these properties, which are closely related:

A race condition exists when an “interfering code sequence” can still access the shared resource, violating exclusivity. Programmers may assume that certain code sequences execute too quickly to be affected by an interfering code sequence; when they are not, this violates atomicity. For example, the single “x++” statement may appear atomic at the code layer, but it is actually non-atomic at the instruction layer, since it involves a read (the original value of x), followed by a computation (x+1), followed by a write (save the result to x). The interfering code sequence could be “trusted” or “untrusted.” A trusted interfering code sequence occurs within the product; it cannot be modified by the attacker, and it can only be invoked indirectly. An untrusted interfering code sequence can be authored directly by the attacker, and typically it is external to the vulnerable product.

Potential Mitigations

• Minimize the usage of shared resources in order to remove as much complexity as possible from the control flow and to reduce the likelihood of unexpected conditions occurring.
• Additionally, this will minimize the amount of synchronization necessary and may even help to reduce the likelihood of a denial of service where an attacker may be able to repeatedly trigger a critical section (CWE-400).

Related Attack Patterns

• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/26.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/29.html

References

• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/122e4adaff2439f1cc18cc7e931980fa7560df5c
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/165cf2e0019fa6cedc75b456490c41494c34abb4
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2573f2375b64280be977431701ed5d33b75b9ad0
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2888fa41985f93ed0a6837cfbb06bcbfd7fa2314
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/71c142f910da44421213ade601bcbd23ceae19fa
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8a7da4ced236ce6637fe70f14ca18e718d4bf9e9
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c55b2b983b0fa012942c3eb16384b2b722caa810
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d09525720dd5201756f698bee1076de9aefd4602