Files
linux/net/wireless
Zhao Li d5e4586546 wifi: cfg80211: validate rx/tx MLME callback frame lengths before access
cfg80211_rx_mlme_mgmt() and cfg80211_tx_mlme_mgmt() call tracepoints
before rejecting frames shorter than the frame-control field. After
that, they only require len >= 2 before dispatching into subtype
handlers that assume their fixed fields are present.

The frames that trip this are not shorter than 2 bytes; they are short
relative to their subtype. mwifiex is a concrete in-tree example on the
length side: mwifiex_process_mgmt_packet() only requires a 4-address
ieee80211_hdr plus the 2-byte firmware length prefix before handing the
frame to cfg80211_rx_mlme_mgmt(). After stripping the length prefix and
removing addr4, pkt_len can be exactly 24: a bare 3-address management
header with no reason-code body. The existing WARN_ON(len < 2) does not
fire on such a frame, and cfg80211_process_deauth() then reads
u.deauth.reason_code as a two-byte access starting at offset 24,
immediately past the 24-byte buffer.

Add a frame-control length gate, then validate each subtype's minimum
frame size in an if/else-if chain that mirrors the dispatch logic. Trace
only after the frame is known to be well-formed.

Side effects of this change:
 - The WARN_ON(len < 2) is dropped. It only guarded the frame_control
   read, never the subtype fixed fields, and it does not fire on the
   frames that actually trigger the out-of-bounds read (which are >= 2).
   The len >= 2 check is kept as the guard before dereferencing
   frame_control, but without the warning: these are exported callbacks
   and a malformed frame from a driver should be dropped silently rather
   than backtraced.
 - cfg80211_tx_mlme_mgmt() previously routed every non-deauth subtype
   through disassociation handling; it now silently ignores unrecognised
   subtypes.

Assisted-by: Codex:gpt-5.5
Assisted-by: Claude:claude-opus-4.8
Signed-off-by: Zhao Li <enderaoelyther@gmail.com>
Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260707025336.22557-1-enderaoelyther@gmail.com
Signed-off-by: Johannes Berg <johannes.berg@intel.com>
2026-07-07 09:29:26 +02:00
..
2023-09-11 11:27:23 +02:00
2023-09-11 11:27:23 +02:00