CVE-2024-47689

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

f2fs: fix to dont set SB_RDONLY in f2fs_handle_critical_error()

syzbot reports a f2fs bug as below:

————[ cut here ]———— WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 58 at kernel/rcu/sync.c:177 rcu_sync_dtor+0xcd/0x180 kernel/rcu/sync.c:177 CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 58 Comm: kworker/1:2 Not tainted 6.10.0-syzkaller-12562-g1722389b0d86 #0 Workqueue: events destroy_super_work RIP: 0010:rcu_sync_dtor+0xcd/0x180 kernel/rcu/sync.c:177 Call Trace: percpu_free_rwsem+0x41/0x80 kernel/locking/percpu-rwsem.c:42 destroy_super_work+0xec/0x130 fs/super.c:282 process_one_work kernel/workqueue.c:3231 [inline] process_scheduled_works+0xa2c/0x1830 kernel/workqueue.c:3312 worker_thread+0x86d/0xd40 kernel/workqueue.c:3390 kthread+0x2f0/0x390 kernel/kthread.c:389 ret_from_fork+0x4b/0x80 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:147 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:244

As Christian Brauner pointed out [1]: the root cause is f2fs sets SB_RDONLY flag in internal function, rather than setting the flag covered w/ sb->s_umount semaphore via remount procedure, then below race condition causes this bug:

• freeze_super()
• sb_wait_write(sb, SB_FREEZE_WRITE)
• sb_wait_write(sb, SB_FREEZE_PAGEFAULT)
• sb_wait_write(sb, SB_FREEZE_FS) - f2fs_handle_critical_error - sb->s_flags |= SB_RDONLY
• thaw_super
• thaw_super_locked
• sb_rdonly() is true, so it skips sb_freeze_unlock(sb, SB_FREEZE_FS)
• deactivate_locked_super

Since f2fs has almost the same logic as ext4 [2] when handling critical error in filesystem if it mounts w/ errors=remount-ro option:

• set CP_ERROR_FLAG flag which indicates filesystem is stopped
• record errors to superblock
• set SB_RDONLY falg Once we set CP_ERROR_FLAG flag, all writable interfaces can detect the flag and stop any further updates on filesystem. So, it is safe to not set SB_RDONLY flag, lets remove the logic and keep in line w/ ext4 [3].

[1] https://lore.kernel.org/all/20240729-himbeeren-funknetz-96e62f9c7aee@brauner [2] https://lore.kernel.org/all/20240729132721.hxih6ehigadqf7wx@quack3 [3] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-ext4/20240805201241.27286-1-jack@suse.cz

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/1f63f405c1a1a64b9c310388aad7055fb86b245c
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/649ec8b30df113042588bd3d3cd4e98bcb1091e0
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/930c6ab93492c4b15436524e704950b364b2930c
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/de43021c72993877a8f86f9fddfa0687609da5a4