In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5: Discard command completions in internal error Fix use after free when FW completion arrives while device is in internal error state. Avoid calling completion handler in this case, since the device will flush the command interface and trigger all completions manually. Kernel log: ------------[ cut here ]------------ refcount_t: underflow; use-after-free. ... RIP: 0010:refcount_warn_saturate+0xd8/0xe0 ... Call Trace: <IRQ> ? __warn+0x79/0x120 ? refcount_warn_saturate+0xd8/0xe0 ? report_bug+0x17c/0x190 ? handle_bug+0x3c/0x60 ? exc_invalid_op+0x14/0x70 ? asm_exc_invalid_op+0x16/0x20 ? refcount_warn_saturate+0xd8/0xe0 cmd_ent_put+0x13b/0x160 [mlx5_core] mlx5_cmd_comp_handler+0x5f9/0x670 [mlx5_core] cmd_comp_notifier+0x1f/0x30 [mlx5_core] notifier_call_chain+0x35/0xb0 atomic_notifier_call_chain+0x16/0x20 mlx5_eq_async_int+0xf6/0x290 [mlx5_core] notifier_call_chain+0x35/0xb0 atomic_notifier_call_chain+0x16/0x20 irq_int_handler+0x19/0x30 [mlx5_core] __handle_irq_event_percpu+0x4b/0x160 handle_irq_event+0x2e/0x80 handle_edge_irq+0x98/0x230 __common_interrupt+0x3b/0xa0 common_interrupt+0x7b/0xa0 </IRQ> <TASK> asm_common_interrupt+0x22/0x40
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 Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.