Use After Free in Linux

CVE-2024-53186

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ksmbd: fix use-after-free in SMB request handling A race condition exists between SMB request handling in `ksmbd_conn_handler_loop()` and the freeing of `ksmbd_conn` in the workqueue handler `handle_ksmbd_work()`. This leads to a UAF. - KASAN: slab-use-after-free Read in handle_ksmbd_work - KASAN: slab-use-after-free in rtlock_slowlock_locked This race condition arises as follows: - `ksmbd_conn_handler_loop()` waits for `conn->r_count` to reach zero: `wait_event(conn->r_count_q, atomic_read(&conn->r_count) == 0);` - Meanwhile, `handle_ksmbd_work()` decrements `conn->r_count` using `atomic_dec_return(&conn->r_count)`, and if it reaches zero, calls `ksmbd_conn_free()`, which frees `conn`. - However, after `handle_ksmbd_work()` decrements `conn->r_count`, it may still access `conn->r_count_q` in the following line: `waitqueue_active(&conn->r_count_q)` or `wake_up(&conn->r_count_q)` This results in a UAF, as `conn` has already been freed. The discovery of this UAF can be referenced in the following PR for syzkaller's support for SMB requests.

Vulnerability class: Race Condition

Published 2024-12-27 · last modified 2026-08-04.