Message-ID: <20250805154725.22031-1-pranav.tyagi03@gmail.com>
Date: Tue,  5 Aug 2025 21:17:25 +0530
From: Pranav Tyagi <pranav.tyagi03@...il.com>
To: tglx@...utronix.de,
	mingo@...hat.com,
	peterz@...radead.org,
	dvhart@...radead.org,
	dave@...olabs.net,
	andrealmeid@...lia.com,
	linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org
Cc: jann@...jh.net,
	keescook@...omium.org,
	skhan@...uxfoundation.org,
	linux-kernel-mentees@...ts.linux.dev,
	Pranav Tyagi <pranav.tyagi03@...il.com>
Subject: [PATCH v3] futex: don't leak robust_list pointer on exec race

sys_get_robust_list() and compat_get_robust_list() use
ptrace_may_access() to check if the calling task is allowed to access
another task's robust_list pointer. This check is racy against a
concurrent exec() in the target process.

During exec(), a task may transition from a non-privileged binary to a
privileged one (e.g., setuid binary) and its credentials/memory mappings
may change. If get_robust_list() performs ptrace_may_access() before
this transition, it may erroneously allow access to sensitive information
after the target becomes privileged.

A racy access allows an attacker to exploit a window
during which ptrace_may_access() passes before a target process
transitions to a privileged state via exec().

For example, consider a non-privileged task T that is about to execute a
setuid-root binary. An attacker task A calls get_robust_list(T) while T
is still unprivileged. Since ptrace_may_access() checks permissions
based on current credentials, it succeeds. However, if T begins exec
immediately afterwards, it becomes privileged and may change its memory
mappings. Because get_robust_list() proceeds to access T->robust_list
without synchronizing with exec() it may read user-space pointers from a
now-privileged process.

This violates the intended post-exec access restrictions and could
expose sensitive memory addresses or be used as a primitive in a larger
exploit chain. Consequently, the race can lead to unauthorized
disclosure of information across privilege boundaries and poses a
potential security risk.

Take a read lock on signal->exec_update_lock prior to invoking
ptrace_may_access() and accessing the robust_list/compat_robust_list.
This ensures that the target task's exec state remains stable during the
check, allowing for consistent and synchronized validation of
credentials.

Signed-off-by: Pranav Tyagi <pranav.tyagi03@...il.com>
Suggested-by: Jann Horn <jann@...jh.net>
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-fsdevel/1477863998-3298-5-git-send-email-jann@thejh.net/
Link: https://github.com/KSPP/linux/issues/119
---
changed in v3:
- replaced RCU with scoped_guard(rcu)
- corrected error return type cast
- added IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_COMPAT) for ensuring compatability
- removed stray newlines and unnecessary line breaks
changed in v2:
- improved changelog
- helper function for common part of compat and native syscalls

 kernel/futex/syscalls.c | 102 ++++++++++++++++++++--------------------
 1 file changed, 52 insertions(+), 50 deletions(-)

diff --git a/kernel/futex/syscalls.c b/kernel/futex/syscalls.c
index 4b6da9116aa6..c342c16d6d00 100644
--- a/kernel/futex/syscalls.c
+++ b/kernel/futex/syscalls.c
@@ -39,6 +39,52 @@ SYSCALL_DEFINE2(set_robust_list, struct robust_list_head __user *, head,
 	return 0;
 }
 
+static void __user *get_robust_list_common(int pid, bool compat)
+{
+	struct task_struct *p;
+	void __user *head;
+	unsigned long ret;
+
+	p = current;
+
+	scoped_guard(rcu) {
+		if (pid) {
+			p = find_task_by_vpid(pid);
+			if (!p)
+				return (void __user *)ERR_PTR(-ESRCH);
+		}
+		get_task_struct(p);
+	}
+
+	/*
+	 * Hold exec_update_lock to serialize with concurrent exec()
+	 * so ptrace_may_access() is checked against stable credentials
+	 */
+	ret = down_read_killable(&p->signal->exec_update_lock);
+	if (ret)
+		goto err_put;
+
+	ret = -EPERM;
+	if (!ptrace_may_access(p, PTRACE_MODE_READ_REALCREDS))
+		goto err_unlock;
+
+	if (IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_COMPAT) && compat)
+		head = p->compat_robust_list;
+	else
+		head = p->robust_list;
+
+	up_read(&p->signal->exec_update_lock);
+	put_task_struct(p);
+
+	return head;
+
+err_unlock:
+	up_read(&p->signal->exec_update_lock);
+err_put:
+	put_task_struct(p);
+	return (void __user *)ERR_PTR(ret);
+}
+
 /**
  * sys_get_robust_list() - Get the robust-futex list head of a task
  * @pid:	pid of the process [zero for current task]
@@ -49,36 +95,14 @@ SYSCALL_DEFINE3(get_robust_list, int, pid,
 		struct robust_list_head __user * __user *, head_ptr,
 		size_t __user *, len_ptr)
 {
-	struct robust_list_head __user *head;
-	unsigned long ret;
-	struct task_struct *p;
+	struct robust_list_head __user *head = get_robust_list_common(pid, false);
 
-	rcu_read_lock();
-
-	ret = -ESRCH;
-	if (!pid)
-		p = current;
-	else {
-		p = find_task_by_vpid(pid);
-		if (!p)
-			goto err_unlock;
-	}
-
-	ret = -EPERM;
-	if (!ptrace_may_access(p, PTRACE_MODE_READ_REALCREDS))
-		goto err_unlock;
-
-	head = p->robust_list;
-	rcu_read_unlock();
+	if (IS_ERR(head))
+		return PTR_ERR(head);
 
 	if (put_user(sizeof(*head), len_ptr))
 		return -EFAULT;
 	return put_user(head, head_ptr);
-
-err_unlock:
-	rcu_read_unlock();
-
-	return ret;
 }
 
 long do_futex(u32 __user *uaddr, int op, u32 val, ktime_t *timeout,
@@ -455,36 +479,14 @@ COMPAT_SYSCALL_DEFINE3(get_robust_list, int, pid,
 			compat_uptr_t __user *, head_ptr,
 			compat_size_t __user *, len_ptr)
 {
-	struct compat_robust_list_head __user *head;
-	unsigned long ret;
-	struct task_struct *p;
+	struct compat_robust_list_head __user *head = get_robust_list_common(pid, true);
 
-	rcu_read_lock();
-
-	ret = -ESRCH;
-	if (!pid)
-		p = current;
-	else {
-		p = find_task_by_vpid(pid);
-		if (!p)
-			goto err_unlock;
-	}
-
-	ret = -EPERM;
-	if (!ptrace_may_access(p, PTRACE_MODE_READ_REALCREDS))
-		goto err_unlock;
-
-	head = p->compat_robust_list;
-	rcu_read_unlock();
+	if (IS_ERR(head))
+		return PTR_ERR(head);
 
 	if (put_user(sizeof(*head), len_ptr))
 		return -EFAULT;
 	return put_user(ptr_to_compat(head), head_ptr);
-
-err_unlock:
-	rcu_read_unlock();
-
-	return ret;
 }
 #endif /* CONFIG_COMPAT */
 
-- 
2.49.0

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