Thread (26 messages) flat view 26 messages, 5 authors, 11d ago

Re: [PATCH net 09/10] i40e: fix netdev leak in i40e_vsi_setup() error paths

From: Jakub Kicinski <kuba@kernel.org>
Date: 2026-08-06 17:20:52
Also in: stable

This is an AI-generated review of your patch. The human sending this
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---
i40e: fix netdev leak in i40e_vsi_setup() error paths

This moves the free_netdev() call out of the netdev_registered block at
err_msix and into a new unconditional block at err_netdev, so that the
netdev allocated by i40e_config_netdev() is released when
i40e_netif_set_realnum_tx_rx_queues(), i40e_devlink_create_port() or
register_netdev() fail.
quoted hunk ↗ jump to hunk
diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/i40e/i40e_main.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/i40e/i40e_main.c
index 0ac1be6289f6b..4f0f7626605ba 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/i40e/i40e_main.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/intel/i40e/i40e_main.c
@@ -14494,13 +14494,15 @@ struct i40e_vsi *i40e_vsi_setup(struct i40e_pf *pf, u8 type,
 	if (vsi->netdev_registered) {
 		vsi->netdev_registered = false;
 		unregister_netdev(vsi->netdev);
-		free_netdev(vsi->netdev);
-		vsi->netdev = NULL;
 	}
 err_dl_port:
 	if (vsi->type == I40E_VSI_MAIN)
 		i40e_devlink_destroy_port(pf);
 err_netdev:
+	if (vsi->netdev) {
+		free_netdev(vsi->netdev);
+		vsi->netdev = NULL;
+	}
[Severity: Medium]
On the newly covered paths the netdev was never registered, but the VSI
is already published in pf->vsi[vsi->idx] by i40e_vsi_mem_alloc(), and
i40e_config_netdev() has already run i40e_add_mac_filter() for the
unicast and broadcast addresses, which does:

drivers/net/ethernet/intel/i40e/i40e_main.c:i40e_add_filter() {
	...
	vsi->flags |= I40E_VSI_FLAG_FILTER_CHANGED;
	set_bit(__I40E_MACVLAN_SYNC_PENDING, vsi->back->state);
	...
}

The service work item then walks pf->vsi[] with no lock:

i40e_sync_filters_subtask() {
	i40e_pf_for_each_vsi(pf, v, vsi) {
		if ((vsi->flags & I40E_VSI_FLAG_FILTER_CHANGED) &&
		    !test_bit(__I40E_VSI_RELEASING, vsi->state)) {
			int ret = i40e_sync_vsi_filters(vsi);
	...
}

and i40e_sync_vsi_filters() dereferences the netdev:

i40e_sync_vsi_filters() {
	...
	if (vsi->netdev) {
		changed_flags = vsi->current_netdev_flags ^ vsi->netdev->flags;
		vsi->current_netdev_flags = vsi->netdev->flags;
	}
	...
}

Can the service task load vsi->netdev, pass the NULL test, and then
dereference it after this free_netdev()?  The error path does not set
__I40E_VSI_RELEASING first, which is the ordering i40e_vsi_release()
uses before its own free_netdev(), and the vsi->netdev = NULL store
carries no lock or barrier.

This is reachable at runtime for I40E_VSI_VMDQ2 VSIs created from
debugfs, where i40e_dbg_command_write() calls
i40e_vsi_setup(pf, I40E_VSI_VMDQ2, vsi_seid, 0) while the service work
item is live.  Would setting __I40E_VSI_RELEASING (or clearing
I40E_VSI_FLAG_FILTER_CHANGED / unpublishing pf->vsi[idx] under
pf->switch_mutex) before dropping the netdev close this window, mirroring
i40e_vsi_release()?

The exposure window is short, since the following i40e_vsi_clear() also
kfree()s the still-published struct i40e_vsi on these same paths, which
is a pre-existing unsynchronised teardown.

[Severity: High]
This isn't a bug introduced by this patch, but the other in-tree caller of
i40e_config_netdev() does not follow the ownership rule this hunk
codifies.  In i40e_init_recovery_mode() the netdev is never released:

	err = i40e_config_netdev(vsi);
	if (err)
		goto err_switch_setup;
	err = register_netdev(vsi->netdev);
	if (err)
		goto err_switch_setup;
	vsi->netdev_registered = true;
	i40e_dbg_pf_init(pf);

	err = i40e_setup_misc_vector_for_recovery_mode(pf);
	if (err)
		goto err_switch_setup;

If register_netdev() fails, is the net_device allocated by
alloc_etherdev_mq() inside i40e_config_netdev() leaked?  i40e_probe()
does "return i40e_init_recovery_mode(pf, hw);", so i40e_remove() never
runs for the failed probe and nothing later frees it.

The case where register_netdev() succeeded and
i40e_setup_misc_vector_for_recovery_mode() then fails looks worse, since
err_switch_setup never calls unregister_netdev():

err_switch_setup:
	i40e_reset_interrupt_capability(pf);
	timer_shutdown_sync(&pf->service_timer);
	i40e_shutdown_adminq(hw);
	iounmap(hw->hw_addr);
	pci_release_mem_regions(pf->pdev);
	pci_disable_device(pf->pdev);
	i40e_free_pf(pf);

	return err;

i40e_free_pf() is devlink_free() on the devlink whose priv is the struct
i40e_pf, so the netdev stays registered in the netns while its
netdev_priv()->vsi->back has been freed and hw->hw_addr has been
iounmapped.  Can a later "ip link set <dev> up" on the leftover interface
reach i40e_open() and touch the freed pf and the unmapped register
window?  The debugfs directory created by i40e_dbg_pf_init(pf) is left in
place pointing at the freed pf as well.

Would it make sense to fix that call site in the same series, so both
users of i40e_config_netdev() release the netdev consistently?
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