In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
sh: push-switch: Reorder cleanup operations to avoid use-after-free bug
The original code puts flush_work() before timer_shutdown_sync() in switch_drv_remove(). Although we use flush_work() to stop the worker, it could be rescheduled in switch_timer(). As a result, a use-after-free bug can occur. The details are shown below:
(cpu 0) | (cpu 1)
switch_drv_remove() | flush_work() | … | switch_timer // timer | schedule_work(&psw->work) timer_shutdown_sync() | … | switch_work_handler // worker kfree(psw) // free | | psw->state = 0 // use
This patch puts timer_shutdown_sync() before flush_work() to mitigate the bugs. As a result, the worker and timer will be stopped safely before the deallocate operations.