[PATCH 01/26] netfs: Fix NULL pointer dereference in netfs_unbuffered_write() on retry

David Howells dhowells at redhat.com
Thu Mar 26 03:45:16 PDT 2026


From: Deepanshu Kartikey <kartikey406 at gmail.com>

When a write subrequest is marked NETFS_SREQ_NEED_RETRY, the retry path
in netfs_unbuffered_write() unconditionally calls stream->prepare_write()
without checking if it is NULL.

Filesystems such as 9P do not set the prepare_write operation, so
stream->prepare_write remains NULL. When get_user_pages() fails with
-EFAULT and the subrequest is flagged for retry, this results in a NULL
pointer dereference at fs/netfs/direct_write.c:189.

Fix this by mirroring the pattern already used in write_retry.c: if
stream->prepare_write is NULL, skip renegotiation and directly reissue
the subrequest via netfs_reissue_write(), which handles iterator reset,
IN_PROGRESS flag, stats update and reissue internally.

Fixes: a0b4c7a49137 ("netfs: Fix unbuffered/DIO writes to dispatch subrequests in strict sequence")
Reported-by: syzbot+7227db0fbac9f348dba0 at syzkaller.appspotmail.com
Closes: https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=7227db0fbac9f348dba0
Signed-off-by: Deepanshu Kartikey <Kartikey406 at gmail.com>
Signed-off-by: David Howells <dhowells at redhat.com>
---
 fs/netfs/direct_write.c | 14 +++++++++++---
 1 file changed, 11 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/fs/netfs/direct_write.c b/fs/netfs/direct_write.c
index dd1451bf7543..4d9760e36c11 100644
--- a/fs/netfs/direct_write.c
+++ b/fs/netfs/direct_write.c
@@ -186,10 +186,18 @@ static int netfs_unbuffered_write(struct netfs_io_request *wreq)
 		stream->sreq_max_segs	= INT_MAX;
 
 		netfs_get_subrequest(subreq, netfs_sreq_trace_get_resubmit);
-		stream->prepare_write(subreq);
 
-		__set_bit(NETFS_SREQ_IN_PROGRESS, &subreq->flags);
-		netfs_stat(&netfs_n_wh_retry_write_subreq);
+		if (stream->prepare_write) {
+			stream->prepare_write(subreq);
+			__set_bit(NETFS_SREQ_IN_PROGRESS, &subreq->flags);
+			netfs_stat(&netfs_n_wh_retry_write_subreq);
+		} else {
+			struct iov_iter source;
+
+			netfs_reset_iter(subreq);
+			source = subreq->io_iter;
+			netfs_reissue_write(stream, subreq, &source);
+		}
 	}
 
 	netfs_unbuffered_write_done(wreq);




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