Re: [PATCH v4 5/9] tracing: Fix subbuf resize races in trace_pipe_raw readers
From: Vincent Donnefort <hidden>
Date: 2026-08-12 16:57:54
Also in:
sashiko-reviews
On Wed, Aug 12, 2026 at 03:47:05PM +0000, sashiko-bot@kernel.org wrote:
quoted hunk ↗ jump to hunk
Thank you for your contribution! Sashiko AI review found 2 potential issue(s) to consider: New issues: - [High] A logic error in the retry loop of `tracing_buffers_read()` bypasses `ring_buffer_read_page()` on retry, leaking uninitialized or stale kernel memory to userspace. Pre-existing issues: - [Critical] A race condition during subbuffer resize causes `cpu_buffer->free_page` to retain an old allocation size while `buffer->subbuf_order` reflects the new order, leading to a kernel buffer overflow. ----- Patch [5]: [PATCH v4 5/9] tracing: Fix subbuf resize races in trace_pipe_raw readers ---commit c5c1a16fabb91c8f580283f14e5e76cc1ccb99b0 Author: Vincent Donnefort [off-list ref] tracing: Fix subbuf resize races in trace_pipe_raw readers Concurrent subbuffer resizes may crash trace_pipe_raw readers or leak uninitialized memory to userspace due to stale size values.quoted
diff --git a/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c b/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c index 94552a433228d..f62d6853ee5c0 100644 --- a/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c +++ b/kernel/trace/ring_buffer.c[ ... ]quoted
@@ -6988,22 +6988,34 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(ring_buffer_swap_cpu); * Returns: * The page allocated, or ERR_PTR */ -struct buffer_data_read_page * -ring_buffer_alloc_read_page(struct trace_buffer *buffer, int cpu) +struct buffer_data_read_page *ring_buffer_alloc_read_page(struct trace_buffer *buffer, int cpu, + struct buffer_data_read_page *prev) { + struct buffer_data_read_page *bpage = prev; struct ring_buffer_per_cpu *cpu_buffer; - struct buffer_data_read_page *bpage = NULL; unsigned long flags; + unsigned int order; if (!cpumask_test_cpu(cpu, buffer->cpumask)) return ERR_PTR(-ENODEV); - bpage = kzalloc_obj(*bpage); - if (!bpage) - return ERR_PTR(-ENOMEM); - - bpage->order = buffer->subbuf_order; + order = buffer->subbuf_order; cpu_buffer = buffer->buffers[cpu]; + + if (!bpage) { + bpage = kzalloc_obj(*bpage); + if (!bpage) + return ERR_PTR(-ENOMEM); + } else { + if (bpage->order == order) + return bpage; + + free_pages((unsigned long)bpage->data, bpage->order); + bpage->data = NULL; + } + + bpage->order = order; + local_irq_save(flags); arch_spin_lock(&cpu_buffer->lock); if (cpu_buffer->free_page) { bpage->data = cpu_buffer->free_page; cpu_buffer->free_page = NULL; }[Severity: Critical] This is a pre-existing issue, but can this lead to an out-of-bounds write during a subbuffer resize? In ring_buffer_alloc_read_page(), the newly read buffer->subbuf_order is assigned to a page stolen from cpu_buffer->free_page without checking if their size orders match. If a concurrent call to ring_buffer_subbuf_order_set() updates buffer->subbuf_order locklessly, and this function is called before cpu_buffer->free_page is cleared, it will steal the old free_page but assign it the new size order. Will this malformed page be swapped into the ring buffer, allowing writers to write past its actual bounds? [ ... ]quoted
diff --git a/kernel/trace/trace.c b/kernel/trace/trace.c index 395238b2b715c..0409d20a168bb 100644 --- a/kernel/trace/trace.c +++ b/kernel/trace/trace.c[ ... ]quoted
@@ -7080,8 +7080,8 @@ ssize_t tracing_buffers_read(struct file *filp, char __user *ubuf, { struct ftrace_buffer_info *info = filp->private_data; struct trace_iterator *iter = &info->iter; - void *trace_data; - int page_size; + void *trace_data, *prev_spare; + unsigned int spare_size; ssize_t ret = 0; ssize_t size;@@ -7091,36 +7091,31 @@ ssize_t tracing_buffers_read(struct file *filp, char __user *ubuf, if (iter->snapshot && tracer_uses_snapshot(iter->tr->current_trace)) return -EBUSY; - page_size = ring_buffer_subbuf_size_get(iter->array_buffer->buffer); +again: + prev_spare = info->spare; + if (prev_spare) { + spare_size = ring_buffer_read_page_size(info->spare); - /* Make sure the spare matches the current sub buffer size */ - if (info->spare) { - if (page_size != info->spare_size) { - ring_buffer_free_read_page(iter->array_buffer->buffer, - info->spare_cpu, info->spare); - info->spare = NULL; - } + /* Do we have previous read data to read? */ + if (info->read < spare_size) + goto read; }[Severity: High] Can the retry path bypass the actual read function and copy stale data to userspace? When reading from an empty trace_pipe_raw file, ring_buffer_read_page() returns < 0. The code then blocks in wait_on_pipe(). Once woken up, it executes a goto again. At the again label, info->read is 0 and info->spare is already allocated, so the condition info->read < spare_size will evaluate to true. Does this cause execution to jump directly to the read label, bypassing ring_buffer_read_page(), and copy the uninitialized or stale info->spare page to userspace?
Arg, this one is real!
-- Sashiko AI review · https://sashiko.dev/#/patchset/20260812153311.2328812-1-vdonnefort@google.com?part=5
-- Vincent