[PATCH] ethtool: don't touch the parent device of a net device being unregistered
From: Alexander Popov
Date: Sun Mar 22 2026 - 04:00:03 EST
The ethtool operations may be performed on a net device that is currently
being unregistered. This is also described in the commit dde91ccfa25fd58f
("ethtool: do not perform operations on net devices being unregistered").
Moreover, such a device may have a parent that has already been freed.
Let's check the net device reg_state in ethnl_ops_begin() before calling
pm_runtime_get_sync() for its parent device to avoid use-after-free
like this:
==================================================================
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in __pm_runtime_resume+0xe2/0xf0
Read of size 2 at addr ffff88810cfc46f8 by task pm/606
Call Trace:
<TASK>
dump_stack_lvl+0x4d/0x70
print_report+0x170/0x4f3
? __pfx__raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x10/0x10
kasan_report+0xda/0x110
? __pm_runtime_resume+0xe2/0xf0
? __pm_runtime_resume+0xe2/0xf0
__pm_runtime_resume+0xe2/0xf0
ethnl_ops_begin+0x49/0x270
ethnl_set_features+0x23c/0xab0
? __pfx_ethnl_set_features+0x10/0x10
? kvm_sched_clock_read+0x11/0x20
? local_clock_noinstr+0xf/0xf0
? local_clock+0x10/0x30
? kasan_save_track+0x25/0x60
? __kasan_kmalloc+0x7f/0x90
? genl_family_rcv_msg_attrs_parse.isra.0+0x150/0x2c0
genl_family_rcv_msg_doit+0x1e7/0x2c0
? __pfx_genl_family_rcv_msg_doit+0x10/0x10
? __pfx_cred_has_capability.isra.0+0x10/0x10
? stack_trace_save+0x8e/0xc0
genl_rcv_msg+0x411/0x660
? __pfx_genl_rcv_msg+0x10/0x10
? __pfx_ethnl_set_features+0x10/0x10
netlink_rcv_skb+0x121/0x380
? __pfx_genl_rcv_msg+0x10/0x10
? __pfx_netlink_rcv_skb+0x10/0x10
? __pfx_down_read+0x10/0x10
genl_rcv+0x23/0x30
netlink_unicast+0x60f/0x830
? __pfx_netlink_unicast+0x10/0x10
? __pfx___alloc_skb+0x10/0x10
netlink_sendmsg+0x6ea/0xbc0
? __pfx_netlink_sendmsg+0x10/0x10
? __futex_queue+0x10b/0x1f0
____sys_sendmsg+0x7a2/0x950
? copy_msghdr_from_user+0x26b/0x430
? __pfx_____sys_sendmsg+0x10/0x10
? __pfx_copy_msghdr_from_user+0x10/0x10
___sys_sendmsg+0xf8/0x180
? __pfx____sys_sendmsg+0x10/0x10
? __pfx_futex_wait+0x10/0x10
? fdget+0x2e4/0x4a0
__sys_sendmsg+0x11f/0x1c0
? __pfx___sys_sendmsg+0x10/0x10
do_syscall_64+0xe2/0x570
? exc_page_fault+0x66/0xb0
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f
</TASK>
Fixes: d43c65b05b848e0b ("ethtool: runtime-resume netdev parent in ethnl_ops_begin")
Cc: stable@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Signed-off-by: Alexander Popov <alex.popov@xxxxxxxxx>
---
net/ethtool/netlink.c | 9 ++++-----
1 file changed, 4 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)
diff --git a/net/ethtool/netlink.c b/net/ethtool/netlink.c
index 6e5f0f4f815a..1cdedd1af24d 100644
--- a/net/ethtool/netlink.c
+++ b/net/ethtool/netlink.c
@@ -94,17 +94,16 @@ int ethnl_ops_begin(struct net_device *dev)
if (!dev)
return -ENODEV;
- if (dev->dev.parent)
- pm_runtime_get_sync(dev->dev.parent);
-
netdev_ops_assert_locked(dev);
if (!netif_device_present(dev) ||
dev->reg_state >= NETREG_UNREGISTERING) {
- ret = -ENODEV;
- goto err;
+ return -ENODEV;
}
+ if (dev->dev.parent)
+ pm_runtime_get_sync(dev->dev.parent);
+
if (dev->ethtool_ops->begin) {
ret = dev->ethtool_ops->begin(dev);
if (ret)
--
2.53.0