# \[PATCH\] netlink: Fix netlink\_recvmsg() handling of error from netlink\_dump().

- From: Ben Pfaff \<hidden\>
- Date: 2014-06-30 22:42:18 
- List: netdev
- Page: https://ratatoskr.run/netdev/2014/06/10959474
- Thread: https://ratatoskr.run/netdev/2014/06/10959474/t.md

```text
netlink_dump() returns a negative errno value on error.  Until now,
netlink_recvmsg() directly recorded that negative value in sk->sk_err,
but that's wrong since sk_err takes positive errno values.  (This manifests
as userspace receiving a positive return value from the recv() system call,
falsely indicating success.)

This bug was introduced in the commit that started checking the
netlink_dump() return value, commit b44d211 (netlink: handle errors from
netlink_dump()).

Multithreaded Netlink dumps are one way to trigger this behavior in
practice, as described in the commit message for the userspace workaround
posted here:
    http://openvswitch.org/pipermail/dev/2014-June/042339.html

Signed-off-by: Ben Pfaff <redacted>
---
 net/netlink/af_netlink.c |    2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/net/netlink/af_netlink.c b/net/netlink/af_netlink.c
index 15c731f..b7514b3 100644
--- a/net/netlink/af_netlink.c
+++ b/net/netlink/af_netlink.c
@@ -2483,7 +2483,7 @@ static int netlink_recvmsg(struct kiocb *kiocb, struct socket *sock,
 	    atomic_read(&sk->sk_rmem_alloc) <= sk->sk_rcvbuf / 2) {
 		ret = netlink_dump(sk);
 		if (ret) {
-			sk->sk_err = ret;
+			sk->sk_err = -ret;
 			sk->sk_error_report(sk);
 		}
 	}
-- 
1.7.10.4
```