[PATCH ipsec v3 1/1] xfrm: bound nat keepalive state collection
From: Zihan Xi <hidden>
Date: 2026-08-17 19:10:05
Also in:
lkml, stable
Subsystem:
networking [general], networking [ipsec], the rest · Maintainers:
"David S. Miller", Eric Dumazet, Jakub Kicinski, Paolo Abeni, Steffen Klassert, Herbert Xu, Linus Torvalds
The v1 nat keepalive fix allocates a GFP_ATOMIC object for every state
while collecting references for phase two. This makes the worker's
temporary memory use depend on the number of states and lets -ENOMEM abort
the scan.
Replace the allocated list with a fixed-size batch. When the batch is full,
return a private walk status so xfrm_state_walk() leaves a cursor; drain
the references after the walk releases xfrm_state_lock and resume from
the cursor. This bounds temporary memory use and avoids the allocation
failure path.
The v1 fix also moved nat_keepalive_send() out of the walk callback. Keep
the phase-two drain BH-disabled, as required by local_lock_nested_bh()
used by the keepalive sockets.
Fixes: 763fe700b7c5 ("xfrm: avoid lock inversion in nat keepalive work")
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org
Cc: Eyal Birger <redacted>
Reported-by: Vega <redacted>
Assisted-by: Codex:gpt-5.4
Signed-off-by: Zihan Xi <redacted>
---
Changes in v3:
- send an incremental fix on top of ipsec/master as requested by
Steffen Klassert instead of replacing the queued v1
- replace v1's unbounded GFP_ATOMIC list with a bounded batch and
xfrm_state_walk() cursor resume
- keep the phase-two drain BH-disabled for local_lock_nested_bh()
- distinguish the template-only userspace command from the actual
in-kernel validation integration, configuration, build, and boot steps
- validate 17 concurrent states so the v3 worker fills its 16-entry
batch and resumes from its cursor
- recapture the complete original lockdep report and add its full
batch addr2line mapping from the matching unstripped vmlinux
- record the validation-kernel user-namespace limitation and the
separate NETLINK_XFRM EINVAL result instead of implying that the
template userspace command reproduced the bug
- identify the crash log as evidence from a separate earlier root-cause
reproducer revision, not output from the 17-state v3 batch PoC
- v2 Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/cover.1785861392.git.zihanx@nebusec.ai/ (local)
Changes in v2:
- reroll on top of net cf6f8b29befb
- replace the unbounded GFP_ATOMIC state list with a bounded batch
- keep phase-two processing in BH-disabled context
- clarify the validation permission model and reproducer scope
- v1 Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/cover.1784645321.git.xizh2024@lzu.edu.cn/ (local)
net/xfrm/xfrm_nat_keepalive.c | 46 ++++++++++++++++-------------------
1 file changed, 21 insertions(+), 25 deletions(-)
diff --git a/net/xfrm/xfrm_nat_keepalive.c b/net/xfrm/xfrm_nat_keepalive.c
index 8679c68c10a1..5cd6d43164db 100644
--- a/net/xfrm/xfrm_nat_keepalive.c
+++ b/net/xfrm/xfrm_nat_keepalive.c@@ -155,32 +155,30 @@ static void nat_keepalive_send(struct nat_keepalive *ka) } } +enum { + NAT_KEEPALIVE_BATCH_SIZE = 16, + NAT_KEEPALIVE_BATCH_FULL = 1, +}; + struct nat_keepalive_work_ctx { - struct list_head states; + struct xfrm_state *batch[NAT_KEEPALIVE_BATCH_SIZE]; + unsigned int nr; time64_t next_run; time64_t now; }; -struct nat_keepalive_state { - struct list_head list; - struct xfrm_state *x; -}; - static int nat_keepalive_work_collect(struct xfrm_state *x, int count, void *ptr) { struct nat_keepalive_work_ctx *ctx = ptr; - struct nat_keepalive_state *state; if (!READ_ONCE(x->nat_keepalive_interval)) return 0; - state = kmalloc_obj(*state, GFP_ATOMIC); - if (!state) - return -ENOMEM; + if (ctx->nr == ARRAY_SIZE(ctx->batch)) + return NAT_KEEPALIVE_BATCH_FULL; xfrm_state_hold(x); - state->x = x; - list_add_tail(&state->list, &ctx->states); + ctx->batch[ctx->nr++] = x; return 0; }
@@ -226,29 +224,27 @@ static void nat_keepalive_work_single(struct xfrm_state *x, static void nat_keepalive_work(struct work_struct *work) { - struct nat_keepalive_state *state, *tmp; struct nat_keepalive_work_ctx ctx; struct xfrm_state_walk walk; struct net *net; - int err; + int err, i; - INIT_LIST_HEAD(&ctx.states); ctx.next_run = 0; ctx.now = ktime_get_real_seconds(); net = container_of(work, struct net, xfrm.nat_keepalive_work.work); xfrm_state_walk_init(&walk, IPPROTO_ESP, NULL); - err = xfrm_state_walk(net, &walk, nat_keepalive_work_collect, &ctx); + do { + ctx.nr = 0; + err = xfrm_state_walk(net, &walk, nat_keepalive_work_collect, &ctx); + local_bh_disable(); + for (i = 0; i < ctx.nr; i++) { + nat_keepalive_work_single(ctx.batch[i], &ctx); + xfrm_state_put(ctx.batch[i]); + } + local_bh_enable(); + } while (err == NAT_KEEPALIVE_BATCH_FULL); xfrm_state_walk_done(&walk, net); - list_for_each_entry_safe(state, tmp, &ctx.states, list) { - nat_keepalive_work_single(state->x, &ctx); - xfrm_state_put(state->x); - kfree(state); - } - if (err == -ENOMEM) { - schedule_delayed_work(&net->xfrm.nat_keepalive_work, 0); - return; - } if (ctx.next_run) schedule_delayed_work(&net->xfrm.nat_keepalive_work, (ctx.next_run - ctx.now) * HZ);
--
2.43.0