Subject: [PATCH v2 1/2] ovpn: tcp - use cached peer pointer in ovpn_tcp_close()

From: David Carlier <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 13 May 2026 11:55:20 +0100

ovpn_tcp_close() loads the ovpn_socket via rcu_dereference_sk_user_data()
under rcu_read_lock(), takes a reference on sock->peer, caches the peer
pointer in a local, and drops the read lock. It then passes sock->peer
(rather than the cached local) to ovpn_peer_del(), re-dereferencing the
ovpn_socket after the RCU read section has ended.

Unlike ovpn_tcp_sendmsg(), which uses the same "load under RCU, use
after unlock" pattern but is protected by lock_sock() held across the
function, ovpn_tcp_close() runs without the socket lock: inet_release()
invokes sk_prot->close() without taking lock_sock first.

ovpn_socket_release() can therefore complete its kref_put -> detach ->
synchronize_rcu -> kfree(sock) sequence concurrently, in the window
after ovpn_tcp_close() drops rcu_read_lock() but before it dereferences
sock->peer. The synchronize_rcu() in ovpn_socket_release() protects
readers that use the dereferenced pointer inside the RCU read section,
not those that escape the pointer to a local and use it afterwards.

A reproducer follows the pattern of commit 94560267d6c4 ("ovpn: tcp -
don't deref NULL sk_socket member after tcp_close()"): trigger a peer
removal (keepalive expiration or netlink OVPN_CMD_DEL_PEER) at the same
moment userspace closes the TCP fd. That commit fixed the detach-side
of the same race window; this one fixes the close-side at a different
victim.

Tighten the entry block to read sock->peer exactly once into the cached
peer local, and route all subsequent uses (the hold check, the
ovpn_peer_del() call, and the prot->close() invocation) through that
local. sock->peer is only ever written once in ovpn_socket_new() under
lock_sock(), before rcu_assign_sk_user_data() publishes the ovpn_socket,
and is never reassigned afterwards - but the previous multi-read pattern
made that invariant implicit rather than explicit. The same multi-read
shape exists in ovpn_tcp_recvmsg(), ovpn_tcp_sendmsg(),
ovpn_tcp_data_ready() and ovpn_tcp_write_space(); those will be cleaned
up via a dedicated helper in a follow-up net-next series.

Fixes: 11851cbd60ea ("ovpn: implement TCP transport")
Reviewed-by: Sabrina Dubroca <[email-masked]>
Assisted-by: Claude:claude-opus-4-7
Signed-off-by: David Carlier <[email-masked]>
---

v2:
- Tighten the entry block to read sock->peer exactly once into the
  cached peer local; route the hold check, ovpn_peer_del() call and
  prot->close() invocation through that local (Eric Dumazet)
- Add Reviewed-by from Sabrina Dubroca
- The same multi-read sock->peer pattern in ovpn_tcp_recvmsg(),
  ovpn_tcp_sendmsg(), ovpn_tcp_data_ready() and ovpn_tcp_write_space()
  will be handled by a dedicated helper in a follow-up net-next series
  (Sabrina Dubroca, Antonio Quartulli)

 drivers/net/ovpn/tcp.c | 9 +++++++--
 1 file changed, 7 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/drivers/net/ovpn/tcp.c b/drivers/net/ovpn/tcp.c
index 65054cc84be5..82809b016f0a 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ovpn/tcp.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ovpn/tcp.c
@@ -581,14 +581,19 @@ static void ovpn_tcp_close(struct sock *sk, long timeout)
 
 	rcu_read_lock();
 	sock = rcu_dereference_sk_user_data(sk);
-	if (!sock || !sock->peer || !ovpn_peer_hold(sock->peer)) {
+	if (!sock) {
 		rcu_read_unlock();
 		return;
 	}
+
 	peer = sock->peer;
+	if (!peer || !ovpn_peer_hold(peer)) {
+		rcu_read_unlock();
+		return;
+	}
 	rcu_read_unlock();
 
-	ovpn_peer_del(sock->peer, OVPN_DEL_PEER_REASON_TRANSPORT_DISCONNECT);
+	ovpn_peer_del(peer, OVPN_DEL_PEER_REASON_TRANSPORT_DISCONNECT);
 	peer->tcp.sk_cb.prot->close(sk, timeout);
 	ovpn_peer_put(peer);
 }
-- 
2.53.0