linux-kernel - [PATCH] tracing: Fix lock imbalance in s_start() memory allocation failure path

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Message-ID: <20250929113238.3722055-1-sashal@kernel.org>
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2025 07:32:38 -0400
From: Sasha Levin <sashal@...nel.org>
To: rostedt@...dmis.org,
	mhiramat@...nel.org,
	mathieu.desnoyers@...icios.com
Cc: linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org,
	linux-trace-kernel@...r.kernel.org,
	Sasha Levin <sashal@...nel.org>
Subject: [PATCH] tracing: Fix lock imbalance in s_start() memory allocation failure path

When s_start() fails to allocate memory for set_event_iter, it returns NULL
before acquiring event_mutex. However, the corresponding s_stop() function
always tries to unlock the mutex, causing a lock imbalance warning:

  WARNING: bad unlock balance detected!
  6.17.0-rc7-00175-g2b2e0c04f78c #7 Not tainted
  -------------------------------------
  syz.0.85611/376514 is trying to release lock (event_mutex) at:
  [<ffffffff8dafc7a4>] traverse.part.0.constprop.0+0x2c4/0x650 fs/seq_file.c:131
  but there are no more locks to release!

The issue was introduced by commit b355247df104 ("tracing: Cache ':mod:'
events for modules not loaded yet") which added the kzalloc() allocation before
the mutex lock, creating a path where s_start() could return without locking
the mutex while s_stop() would still try to unlock it.

Fix this by unconditionally acquiring the mutex immediately after allocation,
regardless of whether the allocation succeeded.

Fixes: b355247df104 ("tracing: Cache ":mod:" events for modules not loaded yet")
Signed-off-by: Sasha Levin <sashal@...nel.org>
---
 kernel/trace/trace_events.c | 3 +--
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/kernel/trace/trace_events.c b/kernel/trace/trace_events.c
index 9f3e9537417d5..e00da4182deb7 100644
--- a/kernel/trace/trace_events.c
+++ b/kernel/trace/trace_events.c
@@ -1629,11 +1629,10 @@ static void *s_start(struct seq_file *m, loff_t *pos)
 	loff_t l;
 
 	iter = kzalloc(sizeof(*iter), GFP_KERNEL);
+	mutex_lock(&event_mutex);
 	if (!iter)
 		return NULL;
 
-	mutex_lock(&event_mutex);
-
 	iter->type = SET_EVENT_FILE;
 	iter->file = list_entry(&tr->events, struct trace_event_file, list);
 
-- 
2.51.0