In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nfsd: convert nfsd_net boolean flags to unsigned long flags word nfsd_net contains several boolean fields that are accessed from concurrent contexts without serializat…

Overview

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

nfsd: convert nfsd_net boolean flags to unsigned long flags word

nfsd_net contains several boolean fields that are accessed from concurrent contexts without serialization. In particular, nfsd4_end_grace() guards its drain path with a plain bool:

if (nn->grace_ended)
        return;
nn->grace_ended = true;

The read and the write are independent, and nothing in struct nfsd_net serializes them. At least two contexts can reach this code with no lock held:

laundromat path
  laundry_wq kworker
    nfs4_laundromat()
      nfsd4_end_grace()

RECLAIM_COMPLETE path
  nfsd compound kthread
    nfsd4_reclaim_complete()
      inc_reclaim_complete()
        nfsd4_end_grace()

Both callers can observe grace_ended == false on different CPUs, both store true, and both proceed into nfsd4_record_grace_done(), which invokes the active client_tracking_ops->grace_done callback. For tracking ops that drain reclaim_str_hashtbl (legacy_tracking_ops via nfsd4_recdir_purge_old, and the cld v1+ ops via nfsd4_cld_grace_done), grace_done calls nfs4_release_reclaim(), which walks every bucket of reclaim_str_hashtbl with no lock and calls nfs4_remove_reclaim_record() (list_del + kfree) on each entry. Two concurrent walkers corrupt the list and double-free every nfs4_client_reclaim. A concurrent nfsd4_find_reclaim_client() iterating the same bucket reads through freed memory.

A third call site exists in nfs4_state_start_net() on the skip_grace startup path, but it runs under nfsd_mutex before any client has connected and before the laundromat's first delayed work fires, so it cannot race with the two callers above.

Replace the scattered boolean fields in nfsd_net with a single unsigned long flags word and an enum nfsd_net_flag for the bit positions. The grace_ended race is fixed by using test_and_set_bit(), which is atomic on all architectures. The remaining flags (grace_end_forced, in_grace, somebody_reclaimed, track_reclaim_completes, nfsd_net_up, lockd_up) are converted to use test_bit/set_bit/clear_bit for consistency. This avoids sub-word cmpxchg issues on architectures like Hexagon that only support word-sized atomic operations.

Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.