Re: [PATCH] fhandle: fix UAF due to unlocked ->mnt_ns read in may_decode_fh()

Al Viro <[email protected]>
Newsgroups gmane.linux.kernel.stable,gmane.linux.file-systems,gmane.linux.nfs,gmane.linux.kernel
Message-ID <20260603185013.GZ2636677@ZenIV>
On Wed, Jun 03, 2026 at 07:41:51PM +0100, Al Viro wrote:

> Basically, the store that cleared ->mnt_ns has been done in namespace_sem
> scope and that scope is either no later than the scope in put_mnt_ns()

argh...  s/either//

> that has dropped the active refcount of ns to zero.  At the beginning
> of that scope in put_mnt_ns() we are guaranteed to have the passive
> refcount positive.  Dropping the passive reference happens after an
> rcu delay started in later in the same namespace_sem scope and namespace
> is not freed until the passive refcount reaches zero.

TL;DR: your fix is correct, but needs a better explanation of correctness.
If nothing else, I'd like to have the above findable on lore - I've way
too many pieces of half-baked docs sitting around in local notes as it is ;-/
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