CVE-2024-35798

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

btrfs: fix race in read_extent_buffer_pages()

There are reports from tree-checker that detects corrupted nodes, without any obvious pattern so possibly an overwrite in memory. After some debugging it turns out theres a race when reading an extent buffer the uptodate status can be missed.

To prevent concurrent reads for the same extent buffer, read_extent_buffer_pages() performs these checks:

/* (1) */
if (test_bit(EXTENT_BUFFER_UPTODATE, &eb->bflags))
    return 0;

/* (2) */
if (test_and_set_bit(EXTENT_BUFFER_READING, &eb->bflags))
    goto done;

At this point, it seems safe to start the actual read operation. Once that completes, end_bbio_meta_read() does

/* (3) */
set_extent_buffer_uptodate(eb);

/* (4) */
clear_bit(EXTENT_BUFFER_READING, &eb->bflags);

Normally, this is enough to ensure only one read happens, and all other callers wait for it to finish before returning. Unfortunately, there is a racey interleaving:

Thread A | Thread B | Thread C
---------+----------+---------
   (1)   |          |
         |    (1)   |
   (2)   |          |
   (3)   |          |
   (4)   |          |
         |    (2)   |
         |          |    (1)

When this happens, thread B kicks of an unnecessary read. Worse, thread C will see UPTODATE set and return immediately, while the read from thread B is still in progress. This race could result in tree-checker errors like this as the extent buffer is concurrently modified:

BTRFS critical (device dm-0): corrupted node, root=256
block=8550954455682405139 owner mismatch, have 11858205567642294356
expect [256, 18446744073709551360]

Fix it by testing UPTODATE again after setting the READING bit, and if its been set, skip the unnecessary read.

[ minor update of changelog ]

Weakness

The product contains a concurrent code sequence that 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 operating concurrently.

Affected Software

Extended Description

A race condition occurs within concurrent environments, and it 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. 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/0427c8ef8bbb7f304de42ef51d69c960e165e052
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2885d54af2c2e1d910e20d5c8045bae40e02fbc1
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3a25878a3378adce5d846300c9570f15aa7f7a80
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ef1e68236b9153c27cb7cf29ead0c532870d4215
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0427c8ef8bbb7f304de42ef51d69c960e165e052
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2885d54af2c2e1d910e20d5c8045bae40e02fbc1
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3a25878a3378adce5d846300c9570f15aa7f7a80
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ef1e68236b9153c27cb7cf29ead0c532870d4215