Subject: [PATCH bpf v5 0/2] bpf: tcp: Fix null-ptr-deref in arbitrary SYN Cookie

From: Jiayuan Chen <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 1 Apr 2026 19:04:48 +0800

From: Jiayuan Chen <[email-masked]>

bpf_sk_assign_tcp_reqsk() does not validate the L4 protocol of the skb,
only checking skb->protocol (L3). A BPF program that calls this kfunc on
a non-TCP skb (e.g. UDP) will succeed, attaching a TCP reqsk to the skb.

When the skb enters the UDP receive path, skb_steal_sock() returns the
TCP listener socket from the reqsk. The UDP code then casts this TCP
socket to udp_sock and accesses UDP-specific fields at invalid offsets,
causing a null pointer dereference:

  BUG: KASAN: null-ptr-deref in __udp_enqueue_schedule_skb+0x19d/0x1df0
  Read of size 4 at addr 0000000000000008 by task test_progs/537

  CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 537 Comm: test_progs Not tainted 7.0.0-rc4+ #46 PREEMPT
  Call Trace:
   <IRQ>
   dump_stack_lvl (lib/dump_stack.c:123)
   print_report (mm/kasan/report.c:487)
   kasan_report (mm/kasan/report.c:597)
   __kasan_check_read (mm/kasan/shadow.c:32)
   __udp_enqueue_schedule_skb (net/ipv4/udp.c:1719)
   udp_queue_rcv_one_skb (net/ipv4/udp.c:2370 net/ipv4/udp.c:2500)
   udp_queue_rcv_skb (net/ipv4/udp.c:2532)
   udp_unicast_rcv_skb (net/ipv4/udp.c:2684)
   __udp4_lib_rcv (net/ipv4/udp.c:2742)
   udp_rcv (net/ipv4/udp.c:2937)
   ip_protocol_deliver_rcu (net/ipv4/ip_input.c:209)
   ip_local_deliver_finish (./include/linux/rcupdate.h:879 net/ipv4/ip_input.c:242)
   ip_local_deliver (net/ipv4/ip_input.c:265)
   __netif_receive_skb_one_core (net/core/dev.c:6164 (discriminator 4))
   __netif_receive_skb (net/core/dev.c:6280)

Solution

Patch 1: Add L4 protocol validation in bpf_sk_assign_tcp_reqsk(). Check
ip_hdr(skb)->protocol (IPv4) and ipv6_hdr(skb)->nexthdr (IPv6) against
IPPROTO_TCP, returning -EINVAL for non-TCP skbs.
Patch 2: Add selftest that calls bpf_sk_assign_tcp_reqsk() on a UDP skb
and verifies the kfunc rejects it.

---
v1: https://lore.kernel.org/bpf/[email-masked]/
v2: https://lore.kernel.org/bpf/[email-masked]/
v3: https://lore.kernel.org/bpf/[email-masked]/
v4: https://lore.kernel.org/bpf/[email-masked]/

Changes in v5:
- Add pskb_may_pull before accessing IP/IPv6 headers in kfunc
- Use buf[] instead of buf[32], verify recv data with ASSERT_STREQ
- Remove unnecessary variable initializations in selftest and BPF

Changes in v4:
- Check if assign_ret is EINVAL instead of checking if it is 0

Changes in v3:
- Add IPv6 test coverage, reuse test_cases[] to iterate over both
  address families
- Share TCP/UDP port to simplify BPF program, remove unnecessary
  global variables
- Use connect_to_fd() + send()/recv() instead of manual sockaddr
  construction
- Suggested by Kuniyuki Iwashima

Changes in v2:
- Add Reviewed-by tag from Kuniyuki Iwashima for patch 1
- Use UDP socket recv() instead of kern_sync_rcu() for synchronization
  in selftest

Jiayuan Chen (2):
  bpf: tcp: Reject non-TCP skb in bpf_sk_assign_tcp_reqsk()
  selftests/bpf: Add protocol check test for bpf_sk_assign_tcp_reqsk()

 net/core/filter.c                             |  12 ++
 .../bpf/prog_tests/tcp_custom_syncookie.c     |  93 ++++++++++++++-
 .../bpf/progs/test_tcp_custom_syncookie.c     | 109 ++++++++++++++++++
 3 files changed, 210 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

-- 
2.43.0