[PATCH v9] Bluetooth: hci_uart: fix UAFs and race conditions in close and init paths

w15303746062@163.com posted 1 patch 1 week ago
drivers/bluetooth/hci_ldisc.c | 48 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++------
1 file changed, 40 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)
[PATCH v9] Bluetooth: hci_uart: fix UAFs and race conditions in close and init paths
Posted by w15303746062@163.com 1 week ago
From: Mingyu Wang <25181214217@stu.xidian.edu.cn>

Vulnerabilities leading to Use-After-Free (UAF) and Null Pointer
Dereference (NPD) conditions were observed in the lifecycle management
of hci_uart.

The primary issue arises because the workqueues (init_ready and
write_work) are only flushed/cancelled if the HCI_UART_PROTO_READY
flag is set during TTY close. If a hangup occurs before setup completes,
hci_uart_tty_close() skips the teardown of these workqueues and
proceeds to free the `hu` struct. When the scheduled work executes
later, it blindly dereferences the freed `hu` struct.

Furthermore, several data races and UAFs were identified in the teardown
sequence:
1. Calling hci_uart_flush() from hci_uart_close() without effectively
   disabling write_work causes a race condition where both can concurrently
   double-free hu->tx_skb. This happens because protocol timers can
   concurrently invoke hci_uart_tx_wakeup() and requeue write_work.
2. Calling hci_free_dev(hdev) before hu->proto->close(hu) causes a UAF
   when vendor specific protocol close callbacks dereference hu->hdev.
3. In the initialization error paths, failing to take the proto_lock
   write lock before clearing PROTO_READY leads to races with active
   readers. Additionally, hci_uart_tty_receive() accesses hu->hdev
   outside the read lock, leading to UAFs if the initialization error
   path frees hdev concurrently.

Fix these synchronization and lifecycle issues by:
1. Re-ordering hci_uart_tty_close() to clear HCI_UART_PROTO_READY first,
   followed immediately by a cancel_work_sync(&hu->write_work). Clearing
   the flag locks out concurrent protocol timers from successfully invoking
   hci_uart_tx_wakeup(), effectively rendering the cancellation permanent
   and preventing the tx_skb double-free.
2. Note: Clearing PROTO_READY early causes hci_uart_close() to skip
   hu->proto->flush(). This is perfectly safe in the tty_close path
   because hu->proto->close() executes shortly after, which intrinsically
   purges all protocol SKB queues and tears down the state.
3. Relocating hu->proto->close(hu) strictly prior to hci_free_dev(hdev)
   across all close and error paths to prevent vendor-level UAFs.
4. Moving the hdev->stat.byte_rx increment in hci_uart_tty_receive()
   inside the proto_lock read-side critical section to safely synchronize
   with device unregistration.
5. Adding cancel_work_sync(&hu->write_work) to hci_uart_close() to safely
   flush the workqueue before hci_uart_flush() is invoked via the HCI core.
6. Utilizing cancel_work_sync() instead of disable_work_sync() across
   all paths to prevent permanently breaking user-space retry capabilities.

Fixes: 3b799254cf6f ("Bluetooth: hci_uart: Cancel init work before unregistering")
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org
Signed-off-by: Mingyu Wang <25181214217@stu.xidian.edu.cn>
---
Changes in v9:
- Addressed a critical flaw identified in v8 where premature cancellation of write_work allowed active protocol timers to immediately reschedule it. The teardown sequence in hci_uart_tty_close() now strictly clears HCI_UART_PROTO_READY *before* calling cancel_work_sync(&hu->write_work). This permanently locks out hci_uart_tx_wakeup(), completely resolving the lingering UAF and double-free races.
- Documented that skipping hu->proto->flush() via early flag clearance is intrinsically safe, as hu->proto->close() executes subsequently to purge all unacked/rel queues.

Changes in v8:
- Corrected the teardown sequence in hci_uart_tty_close() by unconditionally canceling write_work BEFORE hci_uart_close().
- Moved hu->hdev->stat.byte_rx increment inside the proto_lock read-side critical section in hci_uart_tty_receive() to prevent read-side UAF against concurrent registration failures.
- Added cancel_work_sync(&hu->write_work) inside hci_uart_close() to eliminate the race condition between write_work and hci_uart_flush() when the interface is brought down via the HCI core.

Changes in v7:
- Reverted disable_work_sync() back to cancel_work_sync() across all error and close paths to preserve user-space retry capabilities.
- Synchronized workqueue teardown safely by atomically clearing PROTO_READY / PROTO_INIT under proto_lock prior to calling cancel_work_sync().
- Fixed a Use-After-Free (UAF) vulnerability in the teardown sequence by relocating hu->proto->close(hu) strictly prior to hci_free_dev(hdev).
- Added cancel_work_sync(&hu->init_ready) at the very beginning of hci_uart_tty_close() to serialize teardown against active asynchronous registration.

Changes in v6:
- Fixed missing `hu->proto_lock` write lock in hci_uart_init_work() error path to prevent race with readers (reported by Sashiko).
- Added disable_work_sync() instead of cancel_work_sync() for `hu->write_work` in hci_uart_init_work() and hci_uart_register_dev() error paths.

Changes in v5:
- Relocated disable_work_sync() to the very top of hci_uart_tty_close(), 
  before hci_uart_close(), to ensure no new work is submitted during device teardown.

Changes in v4:
- Adopted Luiz's suggestion to use disable_work_sync() instead of 
  cancel_work_sync() in close path to prevent new work submissions.

Changes in v3:
- Added 'Cc: stable' tag as requested by the stable bot.

Changes in v2:
- Added KASAN/ODEBUG crash trace.

 drivers/bluetooth/hci_ldisc.c | 48 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++------
 1 file changed, 40 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)

diff --git a/drivers/bluetooth/hci_ldisc.c b/drivers/bluetooth/hci_ldisc.c
index 275ea865bc29..47f4902b40b4 100644
--- a/drivers/bluetooth/hci_ldisc.c
+++ b/drivers/bluetooth/hci_ldisc.c
@@ -194,7 +194,15 @@ void hci_uart_init_work(struct work_struct *work)
 	err = hci_register_dev(hu->hdev);
 	if (err < 0) {
 		BT_ERR("Can't register HCI device");
+
+		percpu_down_write(&hu->proto_lock);
 		clear_bit(HCI_UART_PROTO_READY, &hu->flags);
+		percpu_up_write(&hu->proto_lock);
+
+		/* Safely cancel work after clearing flags */
+		cancel_work_sync(&hu->write_work);
+
+		/* Close protocol before freeing hdev */
 		hu->proto->close(hu);
 		hdev = hu->hdev;
 		hu->hdev = NULL;
@@ -263,8 +271,12 @@ static int hci_uart_open(struct hci_dev *hdev)
 /* Close device */
 static int hci_uart_close(struct hci_dev *hdev)
 {
+	struct hci_uart *hu = hci_get_drvdata(hdev);
+
 	BT_DBG("hdev %p", hdev);
 
+	cancel_work_sync(&hu->write_work);
+
 	hci_uart_flush(hdev);
 	hdev->flush = NULL;
 	return 0;
@@ -531,6 +543,7 @@ static void hci_uart_tty_close(struct tty_struct *tty)
 {
 	struct hci_uart *hu = tty->disc_data;
 	struct hci_dev *hdev;
+	bool proto_ready;
 
 	BT_DBG("tty %p", tty);
 
@@ -540,24 +553,38 @@ static void hci_uart_tty_close(struct tty_struct *tty)
 	if (!hu)
 		return;
 
-	hdev = hu->hdev;
-	if (hdev)
-		hci_uart_close(hdev);
+	/* Wait for init_ready to finish to prevent registration races */
+	cancel_work_sync(&hu->init_ready);
 
-	if (test_bit(HCI_UART_PROTO_READY, &hu->flags)) {
+	proto_ready = test_bit(HCI_UART_PROTO_READY, &hu->flags);
+	if (proto_ready) {
 		percpu_down_write(&hu->proto_lock);
 		clear_bit(HCI_UART_PROTO_READY, &hu->flags);
 		percpu_up_write(&hu->proto_lock);
+	}
 
-		cancel_work_sync(&hu->init_ready);
-		cancel_work_sync(&hu->write_work);
+	/*
+	 * Unconditionally cancel write_work AFTER clearing PROTO_READY.
+	 * This ensures that concurrent protocol timers cannot requeue
+	 * write_work via hci_uart_tx_wakeup(), permanently preventing
+	 * double-free races and UAFs.
+	 */
+	cancel_work_sync(&hu->write_work);
+
+	hdev = hu->hdev;
+	if (hdev)
+		hci_uart_close(hdev); /* proto->flush is safely skipped */
 
+	if (proto_ready) {
 		if (hdev) {
 			if (test_bit(HCI_UART_REGISTERED, &hu->flags))
 				hci_unregister_dev(hdev);
-			hci_free_dev(hdev);
 		}
+		/* Close protocol before freeing hdev (intrinsically purges queues) */
 		hu->proto->close(hu);
+
+		if (hdev)
+			hci_free_dev(hdev);
 	}
 	clear_bit(HCI_UART_PROTO_SET, &hu->flags);
 
@@ -625,11 +652,12 @@ static void hci_uart_tty_receive(struct tty_struct *tty, const u8 *data,
 	 * tty caller
 	 */
 	hu->proto->recv(hu, data, count);
-	percpu_up_read(&hu->proto_lock);
 
 	if (hu->hdev)
 		hu->hdev->stat.byte_rx += count;
 
+	percpu_up_read(&hu->proto_lock);
+
 	tty_unthrottle(tty);
 }
 
@@ -695,6 +723,10 @@ static int hci_uart_register_dev(struct hci_uart *hu)
 		percpu_down_write(&hu->proto_lock);
 		clear_bit(HCI_UART_PROTO_INIT, &hu->flags);
 		percpu_up_write(&hu->proto_lock);
+		/* Cancel work after clearing flags */
+		cancel_work_sync(&hu->write_work);
+
+		/* Close protocol before freeing hdev */
 		hu->proto->close(hu);
 		hu->hdev = NULL;
 		hci_free_dev(hdev);
-- 
2.34.1