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 email has considered the AI review valid, or at least plausible. --- 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?