CVE-2024-38596

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

af_unix: Fix data races in unix_release_sock/unix_stream_sendmsg

A data-race condition has been identified in af_unix. In one data path, the write function unix_release_sock() atomically writes to sk->sk_shutdown using WRITE_ONCE. However, on the reader side, unix_stream_sendmsg() does not read it atomically. Consequently, this issue is causing the following KCSAN splat to occur:

BUG: KCSAN: data-race in unix_release_sock / unix_stream_sendmsg

write (marked) to 0xffff88867256ddbb of 1 bytes by task 7270 on cpu 28:
unix_release_sock (net/unix/af_unix.c:640)
unix_release (net/unix/af_unix.c:1050)
sock_close (net/socket.c:659 net/socket.c:1421)
__fput (fs/file_table.c:422)
__fput_sync (fs/file_table.c:508)
__se_sys_close (fs/open.c:1559 fs/open.c:1541)
__x64_sys_close (fs/open.c:1541)
x64_sys_call (arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:33)
do_syscall_64 (arch/x86/entry/common.c:?)
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe (arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:130)

read to 0xffff88867256ddbb of 1 bytes by task 989 on cpu 14:
unix_stream_sendmsg (net/unix/af_unix.c:2273)
__sock_sendmsg (net/socket.c:730 net/socket.c:745)
____sys_sendmsg (net/socket.c:2584)
__sys_sendmmsg (net/socket.c:2638 net/socket.c:2724)
__x64_sys_sendmmsg (net/socket.c:2753 net/socket.c:2750 net/socket.c:2750)
x64_sys_call (arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:33)
do_syscall_64 (arch/x86/entry/common.c:?)
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe (arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:130)

value changed: 0x01 -> 0x03

The line numbers are related to commit dd5a440a31fa (Linux 6.9-rc7).

Commit e1d09c2c2f57 (af_unix: Fix data races around sk->sk_shutdown.) addressed a comparable issue in the past regarding sk->sk_shutdown. However, it overlooked resolving this particular data path. This patch only offending unix_stream_sendmsg() function, since the other reads seem to be protected by unix_state_lock() as discussed in

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/0688d4e499bee3f2749bca27329bd128686230cb
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4d51845d734a4c5d079e56e0916f936a55e15055
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/540bf24fba16b88c1b3b9353927204b4f1074e25
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8299e4d778f664b31b67cf4cf3d5409de2ecb92c
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9aa8773abfa0e954136875b4cbf2df4cf638e8a5
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a4c88072abcaca593cefe70f90e9d3707526e8f9
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a52fa2addfcccc2c5a0217fd45562605088c018b
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/de6641d213373fbde9bbdd7c4b552254bc9f82fe
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fca6072e1a7b1e709ada5604b951513b89b4bd0a
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0688d4e499bee3f2749bca27329bd128686230cb
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4d51845d734a4c5d079e56e0916f936a55e15055
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/540bf24fba16b88c1b3b9353927204b4f1074e25
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8299e4d778f664b31b67cf4cf3d5409de2ecb92c
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9aa8773abfa0e954136875b4cbf2df4cf638e8a5
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a4c88072abcaca593cefe70f90e9d3707526e8f9
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a52fa2addfcccc2c5a0217fd45562605088c018b
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/de6641d213373fbde9bbdd7c4b552254bc9f82fe
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fca6072e1a7b1e709ada5604b951513b89b4bd0a