In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ALSA: pcm: Serialize PCM mmap with buffer reallocation to fix page UAF
snd_pcm_hw_params() and snd_pcm_hw_free() guard buffer reallocation
with an mmap_count check performed under the PCM stream lock, but the
lock is released long before the buffer is actually freed:
snd_pcm_sync_stop(), constraint refinement and do_free_pages() all
happen in between. snd_pcm_mmap_data(), on the other hand, takes no
lock at all: it validates against the old buffer's state and
dma_bytes, remaps its pages into the VMA, and only then increments
mmap_count.
A concurrent mmap() can therefore slip in between the check and the
free. remap_pfn_range() installs writable PTEs for the old buffer's
pages without taking page references, and the subsequent
do_free_pages() returns those pages to the page allocator while the
VMA still maps them. This leaves a stale, writable mapping of freed
pages: a page-level use-after-free that can be leveraged for local
privilege escalation.
Make snd_pcm_mmap_data() participate in the buffer-access scheme
introduced for hw_params/hw_free: acquire runtime->buffer_accessing
before validating and remapping, and release it afterwards. Buffer
reallocation already fails with -EBUSY while accessors are active,
and the mmap side now fails with -EBUSY while a reallocation is in
progress, so the validate/remap sequence and the check/free sequence
can no longer interleave.
A reproducer that turns this race into a stale writable mapping of
the freed DMA buffer pages is available on request.
CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS Score: 7.8
AV:L - The bug is triggered by mmap() on a local /dev/snd/pcmCD file descriptor (snd_pcm_mmap -> snd_pcm_mmap_data) racing with SNDRV_PCM_IOCTL_HW_PARAMS/HW_FREE ioctls on the same fd. No remote protocol carries any of the inputs.
AC:L - One process controls both sides of the race: one thread calls mmap() and another calls hw_free/hw_params. The window runs from the mmap_count check under the stream lock through snd_pcm_sync_stop and refinement to do_free_pages, and the attacker can retry as often as needed.
PR:L - Opening the PCM device node takes ordinary local user access, either the audio group or the udev uaccess ACL given to the logged-in seat user. No capability is checked on the mmap or hw_params/hw_free paths.
UI:N - The attacker opens the device, sets hw_params and races the mmap against hw_free entirely through their own syscalls. No other user has to do anything.
S:U - This is a local kernel privilege escalation within the same kernel security authority. It crosses no VM or IOMMU boundary.
C:H - remap_pfn_range installs PTEs for the old DMA buffer pages without taking page references, and do_free_pages then frees them. The attacker keeps a direct mapping of whatever the page allocator reuses those pages for, such as page tables, cred or slab pages, and can read it.
I:H - The stale mapping of the freed buffer pages is writable, which gives direct write access to reallocated kernel pages. This is a page-level UAF that enables privilege escalation, as the fix commit itself states.
A:H - Writing through the stale PTEs into pages that have been reallocated corrupts arbitrary kernel memory, which leads to oopses, panics or page-state BUGs.
| Attack Vector |
Local |
Scope |
Unchanged |
| Attack Complexity |
Low |
Confidentiality Impact |
High |
| Privileges Required |
Low |
Integrity Impact |
High |
| User Interaction |
None |
Availability Impact |
High |
AV:L - The bug is triggered by mmap() on a local /dev/snd/pcmCD file descriptor (snd_pcm_mmap -> snd_pcm_mmap_data) racing with SNDRV_PCM_IOCTL_HW_PARAMS/HW_FREE ioctls on the same fd. No remote protocol carries any of the inputs.
AC:L - One process controls both sides of the race: one thread calls mmap() and another calls hw_free/hw_params. The window runs from the mmap_count check under the stream lock through snd_pcm_sync_stop and refinement to do_free_pages, and the attacker can retry as often as needed.
PR:L - Opening the PCM device node takes ordinary local user access, either the audio group or the udev uaccess ACL given to the logged-in seat user. No capability is checked on the mmap or hw_params/hw_free paths.
UI:N - The attacker opens the device, sets hw_params and races the mmap against hw_free entirely through their own syscalls. No other user has to do anything.
S:U - This is a local kernel privilege escalation within the same kernel security authority. It crosses no VM or IOMMU boundary.
C:H - remap_pfn_range installs PTEs for the old DMA buffer pages without taking page references, and do_free_pages then frees them. The attacker keeps a direct mapping of whatever the page allocator reuses those pages for, such as page tables, cred or slab pages, and can read it.
I:H - The stale mapping of the freed buffer pages is writable, which gives direct write access to reallocated kernel pages. This is a page-level UAF that enables privilege escalation, as the fix commit itself states.
A:H - Writing through the stale PTEs into pages that have been reallocated corrupts arbitrary kernel memory, which leads to oopses, panics or page-state BUGs.
CVSS 3.1