In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: scsi: sg: Fix slab-use-after-free read in sg_release() Fix a use-after-free bug in sg_release(), detected by syzbot with KASAN: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in lock_release+0x151/0xa30 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5838 __mutex_unlock_slowpath+0xe2/0x750 kernel/locking/mutex.c:912 sg_release+0x1f4/0x2e0 drivers/scsi/sg.c:407 In sg_release(), the function kref_put(&sfp->f_ref, sg_remove_sfp) is called before releasing the open_rel_lock mutex. The kref_put() call may decrement the reference count of sfp to zero, triggering its cleanup through sg_remove_sfp(). This cleanup includes scheduling deferred work via sg_remove_sfp_usercontext(), which ultimately frees sfp. After kref_put(), sg_release() continues to unlock open_rel_lock and may reference sfp or sdp. If sfp has already been freed, this results in a slab-use-after-free error. Move the kref_put(&sfp->f_ref, sg_remove_sfp) call after unlocking the open_rel_lock mutex. This ensures: - No references to sfp or sdp occur after the reference count is decremented. - Cleanup functions such as sg_remove_sfp() and sg_remove_sfp_usercontext() can safely execute without impacting the mutex handling in sg_release(). The fix has been tested and validated by syzbot. This patch closes the bug reported at the following syzkaller link and ensures proper sequencing of resource cleanup and mutex operations, eliminating the risk of use-after-free errors in sg_release().
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 Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.