Re: [PATCH net v7] net: qualcomm: rmnet: require CAP_NET_ADMIN in the real device netns for config ops

On Thu, 10 Sep 2026 11:26:42 +0300 Abdifatah Suruur wrote:

An rmnet device may be created with its real device in a different
netns than the rmnet device itself (rmnet_newlink() resolves it in
link_net), and the config paths below only check CAP_NET_ADMIN against
dev_net(dev), while mutating rmnet port state attached to the real
device:

- rmnet_changelink() rewrites the endpoint mux table and
  port->data_format and, via rmnet_vnd_update_dev_mtu(), can shrink the
  MTU of the rmnet endpoint netdevs.
- rmnet_add_bridge() and rmnet_del_bridge(), reachable via
  ndo_add_slave/ndo_del_slave through RTM_SETLINK IFLA_MASTER, flip
  port->rmnet_mode and port->bridge_ep on the real device's port; with
  bridge_ep pointing at a caller-owned device, rmnet_rx_handler() then
  forwards real-device ingress frames to it.
- rmnet_set_coalesce() rewrites the port aggregation parameters via
  ETHTOOL_SCOALESCE (ioctl) or ETHTOOL_MSG_COALESCE_SET (netlink),
  whose capability checks likewise only cover dev's netns.

A caller privileged only in the rmnet device's netns can therefore
rewrite the shared cellular data-path state owned by another netns, and
steer its ingress traffic.

Gate the rtnl paths with rtnl_dev_link_net_capable(), matching the
"require CAP_NET_ADMIN in the device netns for changelink" series
(vxlan/geneve, CVE-2026-68432), and gate the ethtool setter with
ns_capable() in the real device netns, mirroring the check dev_ethtool()
already applies to dev's netns.  Report the new rejections through
extack where one is available.

The gates cover the configuration paths only.  Teardown (RTM_DELLINK
reaching rmnet_dellink(), and rmnet_config_notify_cb() unregistering
the bridge when the slave device is deleted) is intentionally left
ungated: link deletion is normal netdev lifecycle behaviour, and the
changelink series this matches (vxlan/geneve, CVE-2026-68432) gated
only the configuration paths.

Fixes: 2abb5792387e ("net: qualcomm: rmnet: Allow configuration updates to existing devices")
Fixes: 60d58f971c1077 ("net: qualcomm: rmnet: Implement bridge mode")
Fixes: db8a563a9d9024 ("net: qualcomm: rmnet: add ethtool support for configuring tx aggregation")
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org

Please drop the Fixes and stable tags, it's not that deep.

+	/* The rtnl path only checks CAP_NET_ADMIN against dev_net(dev),
+	 * but the port state mutated below is attached to real_dev, which
+	 * may live in a different netns.
+	 */

Please drop all these slop comments.

+	if (!rtnl_dev_link_net_capable(dev, dev_net(real_dev))) {
+		NL_SET_ERR_MSG_MOD(extack,
+				   "Changing the port settings requires CAP_NET_ADMIN in the real device network namespace");

way too long, how about:

	NL_SET_ERR_MSG_MOD(extack, "request modifies device in another netns");

in all the extacks.
-- 
pw-bot: cr