In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: smb: client: fix potential deadlock when releasing mids All release_mid() callers seem to hold a reference of @mid so there is no need to call kref_put(&mid->refcount, __release_mid) under @server->mid_lock spinlock. If they don't, then an use-after-free bug would have occurred anyways. By getting rid of such spinlock also fixes a potential deadlock as shown below CPU 0 CPU 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------ cifs_demultiplex_thread() cifs_debug_data_proc_show() release_mid() spin_lock(&server->mid_lock); spin_lock(&cifs_tcp_ses_lock) spin_lock(&server->mid_lock) __release_mid() smb2_find_smb_tcon() spin_lock(&cifs_tcp_ses_lock) *deadlock*
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 Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.