In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
bpf: Defer the free of inner map when necessary
When updating or deleting an inner map in map array or map htab, the map may still be accessed by non-sleepable program or sleepable program. However bpf_map_fd_put_ptr() decreases the ref-counter of the inner map directly through bpf_map_put(), if the ref-counter is the last one (which is true for most cases), the inner map will be freed by ops->map_free() in a kworker. But for now, most .map_free() callbacks dont use synchronize_rcu() or its variants to wait for the elapse of a RCU grace period, so after the invocation of ops->map_free completes, the bpf program which is accessing the inner map may incur use-after-free problem.
Fix the free of inner map by invoking bpf_map_free_deferred() after both one RCU grace period and one tasks trace RCU grace period if the inner map has been removed from the outer map before. The deferment is accomplished by using call_rcu() or call_rcu_tasks_trace() when releasing the last ref-counter of bpf map. The newly-added rcu_head field in bpf_map shares the same storage space with work field to reduce the size of bpf_map.
Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code.
| Name | Vendor | Start Version | End Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux_kernel | Linux | 5.9.0 (including) | 6.1.75 (excluding) |
| Linux_kernel | Linux | 6.2.0 (including) | 6.6.14 (excluding) |
| Linux_kernel | Linux | 6.7.0 (including) | 6.7.2 (excluding) |
The use of previously-freed memory can have any number of adverse consequences, ranging from the corruption of valid data to the execution of arbitrary code, depending on the instantiation and timing of the flaw. The simplest way data corruption may occur involves the system’s reuse of the freed memory. Use-after-free errors have two common and sometimes overlapping causes:
In this scenario, the memory in question is allocated to another pointer validly at some point after it has been freed. The original pointer to the freed memory is used again and points to somewhere within the new allocation. As the data is changed, it corrupts the validly used memory; this induces undefined behavior in the process. If the newly allocated data happens to hold a class, in C++ for example, various function pointers may be scattered within the heap data. If one of these function pointers is overwritten with an address to valid shellcode, execution of arbitrary code can be achieved.