There exists a null pointer dereference in simple_xattrs_free() as
part of the __kernfs_new_node() routine. Within __kernfs_new_node(),
err_out4 calls simple_xattr_free(), but kn->iattr may be NULL if
__kernfs_setattr() was never called. As a result, the first argument to
simple_xattrs_free() may be NULL + 0x38, and no NULL check is done
internally, causing an incorrect pointer dereference.
Add a check to ensure kn->iattr is not NULL, meaning __kernfs_setattr()
has been called and kn->iattr is allocated. Note that struct kernfs_node
kn is allocated with kmem_cache_zalloc, so we can assume kn->iattr will
be NULL if not allocated.
An alternative fix could be to not call simple_xattrs_free() at all. As
was previously discussed during the initial patch, simple_xattrs_free()
is not strictly needed and is included to be consistent with
kernfs_free_rcu(), which also helps the function maintain correctness if
changes are made in __kernfs_new_node().
Reported-by: syzbot+6aaf7f48ae034ab0ea97@syzkaller.appspotmail.com
Closes: https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=6aaf7f48ae034ab0ea97
Fixes: 382b1e8f30 ("kernfs: fix memory leak of kernfs_iattrs in __kernfs_new_node")
Signed-off-by: Will Rosenberg <whrosenb@asu.edu>
Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20251217060107.4171558-1-whrosenb@asu.edu
Signed-off-by: Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@linuxfoundation.org>
2b74209458