CVE-2016-7910 (C, published 2016-11-16T05:59Z)
Description: value: Use-after-free vulnerability in the disk_seqf_stop function in block/genhd.c in the Linux kernel before 4.7.1 allows local users to gain privileges by leveraging the execution of a certain stop operation even if the corresponding start operation had failed.
Severity: HIGH (CVSS v3 base score: 7.8)
Weakness: CWE-416 \u2014 Use After Free
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 Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.
Repository: https://github.com/torvalds/linux
Files changed:
block/genhd.c
Commit message: block: fix use-after-free in seq file

I got a KASAN report of use-after-free:

    ==================================================================
    BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in klist_iter_exit+0x61/0x70 at addr ffff8800b6581508
    Read of size 8 by task trinity-c1/315
    =============================================================================
    BUG kmalloc-32 (Not tainted): kasan: bad access detected
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Disabling lock debugging due to kernel taint
    INFO: Allocated in disk_seqf_start+0x66/0x110 age=144 cpu=1 pid=315
            ___slab_alloc+0x4f1/0x520
            __slab_alloc.isra.58+0x56/0x80
            kmem_cache_alloc_trace+0x260/0x2a0
            disk_seqf_start+0x66/0x110
            traverse+0x176/0x860
            seq_read+0x7e3/0x11a0
            proc_reg_read+0xbc/0x180
            do_loop_readv_writev+0x134/0x210
            do_readv_writev+0x565/0x660
            vfs_readv+0x67/0xa0
            do_preadv+0x126/0x170
            SyS_preadv+0xc/0x10
            do_syscall_64+0x1a1/0x460
            return_from_SYSCALL_64+0x0/0x6a
    INFO: Freed in disk_seqf_stop+0x42/0x50 age=160 cpu=1 pid=315
            __slab_free+0x17a/0x2c0
            kfree+0x20a/0x220
            disk_seqf_stop+0x42/0x50
            traverse+0x3b5/0x860
            seq_read+0x7e3/0x11a0
            proc_reg_read+0xbc/0x180
            do_loop_readv_writev+0x134/0x210
            do_readv_writev+0x565/0x660
            vfs_readv+0x67/0xa0
            do_preadv+0x126/0x170
            SyS_preadv+0xc/0x10
            do_syscall_64+0x1a1/0x460
            return_from_SYSCALL_64+0x0/0x6a

    CPU: 1 PID: 315 Comm: trinity-c1 Tainted: G    B           4.7.0+ #62
    Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS Ubuntu-1.8.2-1ubuntu1 04/01/2014
     ffffea0002d96000 ffff880119b9f918 ffffffff81d6ce81 ffff88011a804480
     ffff8800b6581500 ffff880119b9f948 ffffffff8146c7bd ffff88011a804480
     ffffea0002d96000 ffff8800b6581500 fffffffffffffff4 ffff880119b9f970
    Call Trace:
     [<ffffffff81d6ce81>] dump_stack+0x65/0x84
     [<ffffffff8146c7bd>] print_trailer+0x10d/0x1a0
     [<ffffffff814704ff>] object_err+0x2f/0x40
     [<ffffffff814754d1>] kasan_report_error+0x221/0x520
     [<ffffffff8147590e>] __asan_report_load8_noabort+0x3e/0x40
     [<ffffffff83888161>] klist_iter_exit+0x61/0x70
     [<ffffffff82404389>] class_dev_iter_exit+0x9/0x10
     [<ffffffff81d2e8ea>] disk_seqf_stop+0x3a/0x50
     [<ffffffff8151f812>] seq_read+0x4b2/0x11a0
     [<ffffffff815f8fdc>] proc_reg_read+0xbc/0x180
     [<ffffffff814b24e4>] do_loop_readv_writev+0x134/0x210
     [<ffffffff814b4c45>] do_readv_writev+0x565/0x660
     [<ffffffff814b8a17>] vfs_readv+0x67/0xa0
     [<ffffffff814b8de6>] do_preadv+0x126/0x170
     [<ffffffff814b92ec>] SyS_preadv+0xc/0x10

This problem can occur in the following situation:

open()
 - pread()
    - .seq_start()
       - iter = kmalloc() // succeeds
       - seqf->private = iter
    - .seq_stop()
       - kfree(seqf->private)
 - pread()
    - .seq_start()
       - iter = kmalloc() // fails
    - .seq_stop()
       - class_dev_iter_exit(seqf->private) // boom! old pointer

As the comment in disk_seqf_stop() says, stop is called even if start
failed, so we need to reinitialise the private pointer to NULL when seq
iteration stops.

An alternative would be to set the private pointer to NULL when the
kmalloc() in disk_seqf_start() fails.

Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org
Signed-off-by: Vegard Nossum <vegard.nossum@oracle.com>
Acked-by: Tejun Heo <tj@kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Jens Axboe <axboe@fb.com>


Vulnerable code:

Fixed code:
		seqf->private = NULL;