linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH] net: Initialize ctx to avoid memory allocation error

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Message-ID: <4fd9d7c1-a66c-4281-9e7b-0c3f5fc748f4@schaufler-ca.com>
Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2025 11:34:01 -0700
From: Casey Schaufler <casey@...aufler-ca.com>
To: Florian Westphal <fw@...len.de>
Cc: Chenyuan Yang <chenyuan0y@...il.com>, netfilter-devel@...r.kernel.org,
 netdev@...r.kernel.org, linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org,
 Casey Schaufler <casey@...aufler-ca.com>
Subject: Re: [PATCH] net: Initialize ctx to avoid memory allocation error

On 3/14/2025 1:30 PM, Florian Westphal wrote:
> Casey Schaufler <casey@...aufler-ca.com> wrote:
>>>>> seclen needs to be > 0 or no secinfo is passed to userland,
>>>>> yet the secctx release function is called anyway.
>>>> That is correct. The security module is responsible for handling
>>>> the release of secctx correctly.
>>>>
>>>>> Should seclen be initialised to -1?  Or we need the change below too?
>>>> No. The security modules handle secctx their own way.
>>> Well, as-is security_release_secctx() can be called with garbage ctx;
>>> seclen is inited to 0, but ctx is not initialized unconditionally.
>> Which isn't an issue for any existing security module.
> The splat quoted in
> 35fcac7a7c25 ("audit: Initialize lsmctx to avoid memory allocation error")
>
> seems to disagree.  I see no difference to what nfnetlink_queue is
> doing.

Point. I see no harm in initializing the lsmctx = { } or seclen = 0;