In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
autofs: fix memory leak of waitqueues in autofs_catatonic_mode
Syzkaller reports a memory leak:
BUG: memory leak
unreferenced object 0xffff88810b279e00 (size 96):
comm "syz-executor399", pid 3631, jiffies 4294964921 (age 23.870s)
hex dump (first 32 bytes):
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 08 9e 27 0b 81 88 ff ff ..........'.....
08 9e 27 0b 81 88 ff ff 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ..'.............
backtrace:
[<ffffffff814cfc90>] kmalloc_trace+0x20/0x90 mm/slab_common.c:1046
[<ffffffff81bb75ca>] kmalloc include/linux/slab.h:576 [inline]
[<ffffffff81bb75ca>] autofs_wait+0x3fa/0x9a0 fs/autofs/waitq.c:378
[<ffffffff81bb88a7>] autofs_do_expire_multi+0xa7/0x3e0 fs/autofs/expire.c:593
[<ffffffff81bb8c33>] autofs_expire_multi+0x53/0x80 fs/autofs/expire.c:619
[<ffffffff81bb6972>] autofs_root_ioctl_unlocked+0x322/0x3b0 fs/autofs/root.c:897
[<ffffffff81bb6a95>] autofs_root_ioctl+0x25/0x30 fs/autofs/root.c:910
[<ffffffff81602a9c>] vfs_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:51 [inline]
[<ffffffff81602a9c>] __do_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:870 [inline]
[<ffffffff81602a9c>] __se_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:856 [inline]
[<ffffffff81602a9c>] __x64_sys_ioctl+0xfc/0x140 fs/ioctl.c:856
[<ffffffff84608225>] do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline]
[<ffffffff84608225>] do_syscall_64+0x35/0xb0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80
[<ffffffff84800087>] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd
autofs_wait_queue structs should be freed if their wait_ctr becomes zero.
Otherwise they will be lost.
In this case an AUTOFS_IOC_EXPIRE_MULTI ioctl is done, then a new
waitqueue struct is allocated in autofs_wait(), its initial wait_ctr
equals 2. After that wait_event_killable() is interrupted (it returns
-ERESTARTSYS), so that 'wq->name.name == NULL' condition may be not
satisfied. Actually, this condition can be satisfied when
autofs_wait_release() or autofs_catatonic_mode() is called and, what is
also important, wait_ctr is decremented in those places. Upon the exit of
autofs_wait(), wait_ctr is decremented to 1. Then the unmounting process
begins: kill_sb calls autofs_catatonic_mode(), which should have freed the
waitqueues, but it only decrements its usage counter to zero which is not
a correct behaviour.
edit:imk
This description is of course not correct. The umount performed as a result
of an expire is a umount of a mount that has been automounted, it's not the
autofs mount itself. They happen independently, usually after everything
mounted within the autofs file system has been expired away. If everything
hasn't been expired away the automount daemon can still exit leaving mounts
in place. But expires done in both cases will result in a notification that
calls autofs_wait_release() with a result status. The problem case is the
summary execution of of the automount daemon. In this case any waiting
processes won't be woken up until either they are terminated or the mount
is umounted.
end edit: imk
So in catatonic mode we should free waitqueues which counter becomes zero.
edit: imk
Initially I was concerned that the calling of autofs_wait_release() and
autofs_catatonic_mode() was not mutually exclusive but that can't be the
case (obviously) because the queue entry (or entries) is removed from the
list when either of these two functions are called. Consequently the wait
entry will be freed by only one of these functions or by the woken process
in autofs_wait() depending on the order of the calls.
end edit: imk
autofs: fix memory leak of waitqueues in autofs_catatonic_mode
Syzkaller reports a memory leak:
BUG: memory leak
unreferenced object 0xffff88810b279e00 (size 96):
comm "syz-executor399", pid 3631, jiffies 4294964921 (age 23.870s)
hex dump (first 32 bytes):
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 08 9e 27 0b 81 88 ff ff ..........'.....
08 9e 27 0b 81 88 ff ff 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ..'.............
backtrace:
[<ffffffff814cfc90>] kmalloc_trace+0x20/0x90 mm/slab_common.c:1046
[<ffffffff81bb75ca>] kmalloc include/linux/slab.h:576 [inline]
[<ffffffff81bb75ca>] autofs_wait+0x3fa/0x9a0 fs/autofs/waitq.c:378
[<ffffffff81bb88a7>] autofs_do_expire_multi+0xa7/0x3e0 fs/autofs/expire.c:593
[<ffffffff81bb8c33>] autofs_expire_multi+0x53/0x80 fs/autofs/expire.c:619
[<ffffffff81bb6972>] autofs_root_ioctl_unlocked+0x322/0x3b0 fs/autofs/root.c:897
[<ffffffff81bb6a95>] autofs_root_ioctl+0x25/0x30 fs/autofs/root.c:910
[<ffffffff81602a9c>] vfs_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:51 [inline]
[<ffffffff81602a9c>] __do_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:870 [inline]
[<ffffffff81602a9c>] __se_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:856 [inline]
[<ffffffff81602a9c>] __x64_sys_ioctl+0xfc/0x140 fs/ioctl.c:856
[<ffffffff84608225>] do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline]
[<ffffffff84608225>] do_syscall_64+0x35/0xb0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80
[<ffffffff84800087>] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd
autofs_wait_queue structs should be freed if their wait_ctr becomes zero.
Otherwise they will be lost.
In this case an AUTOFS_IOC_EXPIRE_MULTI ioctl is done, then a new
waitqueue struct is allocated in autofs_wait(), its initial wait_ctr
equals 2. After that wait_event_killable() is interrupted (it returns
-ERESTARTSYS), so that 'wq->name.name == NULL' condition may be not
satisfied. Actually, this condition can be satisfied when
autofs_wait_release() or autofs_catatonic_mode() is called and, what is
also important, wait_ctr is decremented in those places. Upon the exit of
autofs_wait(), wait_ctr is decremented to 1. Then the unmounting process
begins: kill_sb calls autofs_catatonic_mode(), which should have freed the
waitqueues, but it only decrements its usage counter to zero which is not
a correct behaviour.
edit:imk
This description is of course not correct. The umount performed as a result
of an expire is a umount of a mount that has been automounted, it's not the
autofs mount itself. They happen independently, usually after everything
mounted within the autofs file system has been expired away. If everything
hasn't been expired away the automount daemon can still exit leaving mounts
in place. But expires done in both cases will result in a notification that
calls autofs_wait_release() with a result status. The problem case is the
summary execution of of the automount daemon. In this case any waiting
processes won't be woken up until either they are terminated or the mount
is umounted.
end edit: imk
So in catatonic mode we should free waitqueues which counter becomes zero.
edit: imk
Initially I was concerned that the calling of autofs_wait_release() and
autofs_catatonic_mode() was not mutually exclusive but that can't be the
case (obviously) because the queue entry (or entries) is removed from the
list when either of these two functions are called. Consequently the wait
entry will be freed by only one of these functions or by the woken process
in autofs_wait() depending on the order of the calls.
end edit: imk
Metrics
Affected Vendors & Products
Advisories
No advisories yet.
Fixes
Solution
No solution given by the vendor.
Workaround
No workaround given by the vendor.
References
History
Thu, 25 Dec 2025 00:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| References |
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| Metrics |
threat_severity
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cvssV3_1
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Wed, 24 Dec 2025 13:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: autofs: fix memory leak of waitqueues in autofs_catatonic_mode Syzkaller reports a memory leak: BUG: memory leak unreferenced object 0xffff88810b279e00 (size 96): comm "syz-executor399", pid 3631, jiffies 4294964921 (age 23.870s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 08 9e 27 0b 81 88 ff ff ..........'..... 08 9e 27 0b 81 88 ff ff 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ..'............. backtrace: [<ffffffff814cfc90>] kmalloc_trace+0x20/0x90 mm/slab_common.c:1046 [<ffffffff81bb75ca>] kmalloc include/linux/slab.h:576 [inline] [<ffffffff81bb75ca>] autofs_wait+0x3fa/0x9a0 fs/autofs/waitq.c:378 [<ffffffff81bb88a7>] autofs_do_expire_multi+0xa7/0x3e0 fs/autofs/expire.c:593 [<ffffffff81bb8c33>] autofs_expire_multi+0x53/0x80 fs/autofs/expire.c:619 [<ffffffff81bb6972>] autofs_root_ioctl_unlocked+0x322/0x3b0 fs/autofs/root.c:897 [<ffffffff81bb6a95>] autofs_root_ioctl+0x25/0x30 fs/autofs/root.c:910 [<ffffffff81602a9c>] vfs_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:51 [inline] [<ffffffff81602a9c>] __do_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:870 [inline] [<ffffffff81602a9c>] __se_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:856 [inline] [<ffffffff81602a9c>] __x64_sys_ioctl+0xfc/0x140 fs/ioctl.c:856 [<ffffffff84608225>] do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline] [<ffffffff84608225>] do_syscall_64+0x35/0xb0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80 [<ffffffff84800087>] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd autofs_wait_queue structs should be freed if their wait_ctr becomes zero. Otherwise they will be lost. In this case an AUTOFS_IOC_EXPIRE_MULTI ioctl is done, then a new waitqueue struct is allocated in autofs_wait(), its initial wait_ctr equals 2. After that wait_event_killable() is interrupted (it returns -ERESTARTSYS), so that 'wq->name.name == NULL' condition may be not satisfied. Actually, this condition can be satisfied when autofs_wait_release() or autofs_catatonic_mode() is called and, what is also important, wait_ctr is decremented in those places. Upon the exit of autofs_wait(), wait_ctr is decremented to 1. Then the unmounting process begins: kill_sb calls autofs_catatonic_mode(), which should have freed the waitqueues, but it only decrements its usage counter to zero which is not a correct behaviour. edit:imk This description is of course not correct. The umount performed as a result of an expire is a umount of a mount that has been automounted, it's not the autofs mount itself. They happen independently, usually after everything mounted within the autofs file system has been expired away. If everything hasn't been expired away the automount daemon can still exit leaving mounts in place. But expires done in both cases will result in a notification that calls autofs_wait_release() with a result status. The problem case is the summary execution of of the automount daemon. In this case any waiting processes won't be woken up until either they are terminated or the mount is umounted. end edit: imk So in catatonic mode we should free waitqueues which counter becomes zero. edit: imk Initially I was concerned that the calling of autofs_wait_release() and autofs_catatonic_mode() was not mutually exclusive but that can't be the case (obviously) because the queue entry (or entries) is removed from the list when either of these two functions are called. Consequently the wait entry will be freed by only one of these functions or by the woken process in autofs_wait() depending on the order of the calls. end edit: imk | |
| Title | autofs: fix memory leak of waitqueues in autofs_catatonic_mode | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
|
Projects
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MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2025-12-24T13:06:50.627Z
Reserved: 2025-12-24T13:02:52.522Z
Link: CVE-2023-54134
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Received
Published: 2025-12-24T13:16:15.383
Modified: 2025-12-24T13:16:15.383
Link: CVE-2023-54134
Redhat
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
Weaknesses
No weakness.