Forwarded: [PATCH] kernel/fork: validate exit_signal in kernel_clone()

From: syzbot

Date: Mon Mar 16 2026 - 04:21:16 EST


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***

Subject: [PATCH] kernel/fork: validate exit_signal in kernel_clone()
Author: kartikey406@xxxxxxxxx

#syz test: git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/next/linux-next.git master


When a child process exits, it sends exit_signal to its parent via
do_notify_parent(). The clone() syscall constructs exit_signal as:

(lower_32_bits(clone_flags) & CSIGNAL)

CSIGNAL is 0xff, so values in the range 65-255 are possible. However,
valid_signal() only accepts signals up to _NSIG (64 on x86_64), causing
a WARN_ON in do_notify_parent() when the process exits:

WARNING: kernel/signal.c:2174 do_notify_parent+0xc7e/0xd70

The syzkaller reproducer triggers this by calling clone() with
flags=0x80, resulting in exit_signal = (0x80 & CSIGNAL) = 128, which
exceeds _NSIG and is not a valid signal.

The v1 of this patch added the check only in the clone() syscall
handler, which is incomplete. kernel_clone() has other callers such
as sys_ia32_clone() which would remain unprotected. Move the check
to kernel_clone() to cover all callers.

clone3() already validates exit_signal in copy_clone_args_from_user().
The comment above kernel_clone() states that callers are expected to
validate exit_signal, but several callers never did. Adding the check
to kernel_clone() enforces this for all callers centrally.

Reported-by: syzbot+bbe6b99feefc3a0842de@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Closes: https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=bbe6b99feefc3a0842de
Signed-off-by: Deepanshu Kartikey <Kartikey406@xxxxxxxxx>
---
kernel/fork.c | 2 ++
1 file changed, 2 insertions(+)

diff --git a/kernel/fork.c b/kernel/fork.c
index 947a8dbce06a..89d7eb67baf5 100644
--- a/kernel/fork.c
+++ b/kernel/fork.c
@@ -2687,6 +2687,8 @@ pid_t kernel_clone(struct kernel_clone_args *args)
(args->pidfd == args->parent_tid))
return -EINVAL;

+ if (!valid_signal(args->exit_signal))
+ return -EINVAL;
/*
* Determine whether and which event to report to ptracer. When
* called from kernel_thread or CLONE_UNTRACED is explicitly
--
2.43.0