On Sat, 23 Apr 2022 18:07:23 +0200 Lukas Wunner wrote: > > Looking at the original report it looks like the issue could be > > resolved with a more usb-specific change: e.g. it looks like > > usbnet_defer_kevent() is not acquiring a dev reference as it should. > > > > Have you considered that path? > > First of all, the diffstat of the patch shows this is an opportunity > to reduce LoC as well as simplify and speed up device teardown. > > Second, the approach you're proposing won't work if a driver calls > netif_carrier_on/off() after unregister_netdev(). > > It seems prudent to prevent such a misbehavior in *any* driver, > not just usbnet. usbnet may not be the only one doing it wrong. > Jann pointed out that there are more syzbot reports related > to a UAF in linkwatch: > > https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/?q=__linkwatch_run_queue+syzbot > > Third, I think an API which schedules work, invisibly to the driver, > is dangerous and misguided. If it is illegal to call > netif_carrier_on/off() for an unregistered but not yet freed netdev, > catch that in core networking code and don't expect drivers to respect > a rule which isn't even documented. Doesn't mean we should make it legal. We can add a warning to catch abuses.
