[PATCH ath-next] wifi: ath12k: fix stale skb pointers after aligned TX payload shift

[Baochen Qiang]

On 9/9/2026 4:55 AM, Jeff Johnson wrote:
> On 8/17/2026 6:44 PM, Baochen Qiang wrote:
>> ath12k_wifi7_dp_tx() caches hdr, eth, and skb_cb from the skb before
>> calling ath12k_dp_tx_align_payload(). That function may shift skb->data
>> in place (when headroom or tailroom is sufficient) or reallocate the
>> buffer entirely via skb_realloc_headroom(), freeing the original skb.
>> In either case hdr, eth, and skb_cb are left pointing into stale memory.
>>
>> After alignment, only hdr is refreshed, leaving eth and skb_cb stale.
>> skb_cb is written immediately after (storing DMA addresses), and eth is
>> re-read on every TCL ring retry via the tcl_ring_sel goto, so both
>> accesses are use-after-free or stale-pointer bugs depending on which
>> alignment path was taken.
>>
>> Refresh eth (conditionally, to preserve the encap-mode distinction) and
>> skb_cb alongside hdr after ath12k_dp_tx_align_payload() returns, so all
>> three point into the live skb for all subsequent accesses.
>>
>> Issue found during code review, compile tested only.
>>
>> Fixes: 38055789d151 ("wifi: ath12k: use 128 bytes aligned iova in transmit path for WCN7850")
>> Signed-off-by: Baochen Qiang <baochen.qiang at oss.qualcomm.com>
>> ---
>>  drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath12k/wifi7/dp_tx.c | 9 +++++++--
>>  1 file changed, 7 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
>>
>> diff --git a/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath12k/wifi7/dp_tx.c b/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath12k/wifi7/dp_tx.c
>> index d2749de44553..6b8430260238 100644
>> --- a/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath12k/wifi7/dp_tx.c
>> +++ b/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath12k/wifi7/dp_tx.c
>> @@ -251,10 +251,15 @@ int ath12k_wifi7_dp_tx(struct ath12k_pdev_dp *dp_pdev, struct ath12k_link_vif *a
>>  			goto map;
>>  		}
>>  
>> -		/* hdr is pointing to a wrong place after alignment,
>> -		 * so refresh it for later use.
>> +		/*
>> +		 * The payload may have been shifted or even the entire buffer may have
>> +		 * been reallocated for alignment. In that case, hdr, eth and skb_cb
>> +		 * are stale pointers. Refresh them now for later dereference.
>>  		 */
>>  		hdr = (void *)skb->data;
>> +		if (eth)
>> +			eth = (struct ethhdr *)skb->data;
>> +		skb_cb = ATH12K_SKB_CB(skb);
> 
> My review agent notes there is an additional issue possible if alignment
> causes a new skb to be allocated. If there are any error returns beyond this
> point then the caller will double free the original skb instead of freeing the
> new skb. this is because the caller doesn't know the original skb was replaced.

Yeah, indeed the issue is true. I guess we need to pass &skb instead to
ath12k_wifi7_dp_tx() and replace it with the new one.

> 
> So I'm taking this patch as-is since it fixes issues when the buffer is
> shifted, but we need an additional fix to correctly handle when the original
> skb is freed and there is a subsequent error return.

agree, it is a different issue hence deserves a separate patch. Do you want me to submit
it or you will do it yourself?

> 
>>  	}
>>  map:
>>  	ti.paddr = dma_map_single(dp->dev, skb->data, skb->len, DMA_TO_DEVICE);
>>
>> ---
>> base-commit: 4fa10e991f77b4c929d1959900a6ed422b9e2ac5
>> change-id: 20260811-ath12k-uaf-for-aligned-tx-a068d34b1548
>>
>> Best regards,
>