In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5e: Fix use-after-free of encap entry in neigh update handler Function mlx5e_rep_neigh_update() wasn't updated to accommodate rtnl lock removal from TC filter update path and properly handle concurrent encap entry insertion/deletion which can lead to following use-after-free: [23827.464923] ================================================================== [23827.469446] BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in mlx5e_encap_take+0x72/0x140 [mlx5_core] [23827.470971] Read of size 4 at addr ffff8881d132228c by task kworker/u20:6/21635 [23827.472251] [23827.472615] CPU: 9 PID: 21635 Comm: kworker/u20:6 Not tainted 5.13.0-rc3+ #5 [23827.473788] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS rel-1.13.0-0-gf21b5a4aeb02-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 [23827.475639] Workqueue: mlx5e mlx5e_rep_neigh_update [mlx5_core] [23827.476731] Call Trace: [23827.477260] dump_stack+0xbb/0x107 [23827.477906] print_address_description.constprop.0+0x18/0x140 [23827.478896] ? mlx5e_encap_take+0x72/0x140 [mlx5_core] [23827.479879] ? mlx5e_encap_take+0x72/0x140 [mlx5_core] [23827.480905] kasan_report.cold+0x7c/0xd8 [23827.481701] ? mlx5e_encap_take+0x72/0x140 [mlx5_core] [23827.482744] kasan_check_range+0x145/0x1a0 [23827.493112] mlx5e_encap_take+0x72/0x140 [mlx5_core] [23827.494054] ? mlx5e_tc_tun_encap_info_equal_generic+0x140/0x140 [mlx5_core] [23827.495296] mlx5e_rep_neigh_update+0x41e/0x5e0 [mlx5_core] [23827.496338] ? mlx5e_rep_neigh_entry_release+0xb80/0xb80 [mlx5_core] [23827.497486] ? read_word_at_a_time+0xe/0x20 [23827.498250] ? strscpy+0xa0/0x2a0 [23827.498889] process_one_work+0x8ac/0x14e0 [23827.499638] ? lockdep_hardirqs_on_prepare+0x400/0x400 [23827.500537] ? pwq_dec_nr_in_flight+0x2c0/0x2c0 [23827.501359] ? rwlock_bug.part.0+0x90/0x90 [23827.502116] worker_thread+0x53b/0x1220 [23827.502831] ? process_one_work+0x14e0/0x14e0 [23827.503627] kthread+0x328/0x3f0 [23827.504254] ? _raw_spin_unlock_irq+0x24/0x40 [23827.505065] ? __kthread_bind_mask+0x90/0x90 [23827.505912] ret_from_fork+0x1f/0x30 [23827.506621] [23827.506987] Allocated by task 28248: [23827.507694] kasan_save_stack+0x1b/0x40 [23827.508476] __kasan_kmalloc+0x7c/0x90 [23827.509197] mlx5e_attach_encap+0xde1/0x1d40 [mlx5_core] [23827.510194] mlx5e_tc_add_fdb_flow+0x397/0xc40 [mlx5_core] [23827.511218] __mlx5e_add_fdb_flow+0x519/0xb30 [mlx5_core] [23827.512234] mlx5e_configure_flower+0x191c/0x4870 [mlx5_core] [23827.513298] tc_setup_cb_add+0x1d5/0x420 [23827.514023] fl_hw_replace_filter+0x382/0x6a0 [cls_flower] [23827.514975] fl_change+0x2ceb/0x4a51 [cls_flower] [23827.515821] tc_new_tfilter+0x89a/0x2070 [23827.516548] rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x644/0x8c0 [23827.517300] netlink_rcv_skb+0x11d/0x340 [23827.518021] netlink_unicast+0x42b/0x700 [23827.518742] netlink_sendmsg+0x743/0xc20 [23827.519467] sock_sendmsg+0xb2/0xe0 [23827.520131] ____sys_sendmsg+0x590/0x770 [23827.520851] ___sys_sendmsg+0xd8/0x160 [23827.521552] __sys_sendmsg+0xb7/0x140 [23827.522238] do_syscall_64+0x3a/0x70 [23827.522907] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae [23827.523797] [23827.524163] Freed by task 25948: [23827.524780] kasan_save_stack+0x1b/0x40 [23827.525488] kasan_set_track+0x1c/0x30 [23827.526187] kasan_set_free_info+0x20/0x30 [23827.526968] __kasan_slab_free+0xed/0x130 [23827.527709] slab_free_freelist_hook+0xcf/0x1d0 [23827.528528] kmem_cache_free_bulk+0x33a/0x6e0 [23827.529317] kfree_rcu_work+0x55f/0xb70 [23827.530024] process_one_work+0x8ac/0x14e0 [23827.530770] worker_thread+0x53b/0x1220 [23827.531480] kthread+0x328/0x3f0 [23827.532114] ret_from_fork+0x1f/0x30 [23827.532785] [23827.533147] Last potentially related work creation: [23827.534007] kasan_save_stack+0x1b/0x40 [23827.534710] kasan_record_aux_stack+0xab/0xc0 [23827.535492] kvfree_call_rcu+0x31/0x7b0 [23827.536206] mlx5e_tc_del ---truncated---
The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.