Re: [PATCH V3] Bluetooth: bfusb: Fix use-after-free and memory leak in device lifecycle

From: Greg KH
Date: Thu Jul 31 2025 - 00:32:51 EST


On Thu, Jul 31, 2025 at 03:19:19AM +0100, Salah Triki wrote:
> The driver stores a reference to the `usb_device` structure (`udev`)
> in its private data (`data->udev`), which can persist beyond the
> immediate context of the `bfusb_probe()` function.
>
> Without proper reference count management, this can lead to two issues:
>
> 1. A `use-after-free` scenario if `udev` is accessed after its main
> reference count drops to zero (e.g., if the device is disconnected
> and the `data` structure is still active).

How can that happen as during the probe/remove cycle, the reference
count is always properly incremetned.

> 2. A `memory leak` if `udev`'s reference count is not properly
> decremented during driver disconnect, preventing the `usb_device`
> object from being freed.

There is no leak here at all, sorry.

> To correctly manage the `udev` lifetime, explicitly increment its
> reference count with `usb_get_dev(udev)` when storing it in the
> driver's private data. Correspondingly, decrement the reference count
> with `usb_put_dev(data->udev)` in the `bfusb_disconnect()` callback.
>
> This ensures `udev` remains valid while referenced by the driver's
> private data and is properly released when no longer needed.

How was this tested?

I'm not saying the change is wrong, just that I don't think it's
actually a leak, or fix of anything real.

Or do you have a workload that shows this is needed? If so, what is the
crash reported?

thanks,

greg k-h