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DF-1364

Unchecked fd_formb_nsecs in FD_FORMAT causes OOB heap read via DMA/bcopy

Summary

fdformat at fd.c:2272: bp->b_bcount=sizeof(fd_idfield_data)*finfo->fd_formb_nsecs. nsecs is u_char from user ioctl FD_FORM, no validation vs FD_MAX_NSEC(36). idfields[36] in struct fd_formb only 144 bytes. nsecs=255 -> b_bcount=1020 bytes. isa_dmastart/isa_dmarangecheck/bcopy reads 876 bytes past allocation. OOB read occurs before disk-presence check. Root/operator with /dev/fd0 write. Fix: check nsecs<=FD_MAX_NSEC.

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PoC verification

Evidence pack

findings/poc/DF-1364 Β· 9 files
FileTypeDescriptionSize
fix.diff suggested-fix git-apply-able fix; compile-validated under -Werror in the kernel build 624 B view raw
VERDICT.md verdict full source trace + reachability analysis + compile-validation 2.7 KB ↓ raw
README.md readme summary, mechanism, trigger conditions, fix 2.9 KB ↓ raw
build.sh build script that applies fix.diff and rebuilds the kernel 340 B view raw
run.sh run guest reachability probe 620 B view raw
build_fix.log build-log build log slice showing the patched file compiles cleanly (rc=0) 5.1 KB view raw
env.txt environment uname, cc, PCI/kldstat/device-node state proving no HW 1.4 KB view raw
../fix_build_combined.log build-log Combined 41-finding kernel build (rc=0, -Werror clean) 5.6 MB ↓ download
../fix_build_summary.txt build-summary Summary of the combined 41-finding kernel build 826 B view raw
README.md readme summary, mechanism, trigger conditions, fix
↓ download raw

DF-1364 -- Unchecked fd_formb_nsecs in FD_FORMAT ioctl -> OOB heap read

File: sys/dev/disk/fd/fd.c:2272 Class: memory corruption (heap OOB / OOB write / OOB read)

Status: INCONCLUSIVE at runtime -- CONFIRMED source bug, hardware-gated on this guest

The vulnerable code path was traced line-by-line in sys/ and confirmed to be a genuine bug (missing bounds check / integer overflow / unvalidated HBA-supplied index). However it is not exercisable on the DragonFly audit guest because the guest has no fd hardware:

  • PCI shows only QEMU stdvga (vgapci0 class=0x030000 chip=0x11111234), virtio_net and virtio_blk -- no AMD GPU, no Intel iGPU, no LSI SAS HBA, no floppy controller, no TI ThunderLAN NIC, no Emulex OneConnect NIC, no BusLogic SCSI HBA.
  • The fd driver (whether a loadable .ko or compiled-in) never attaches.
  • /dev/fd0, /dev/dri, /dev/dsp* do not exist on this guest.

This is the valid hard-blocker "vulnerable code path unreachable at runtime on this guest AND no harness can exercise it" -- the bug is a real latent defect that would manifest on a system with the relevant hardware (or, for VBIOS-driven bugs, a crafted VBIOS via passthrough/hotplug).

Mechanism (confirmed by source trace)

fdformat() computes bp->b_bcount = sizeof(struct fd_idfield_data) * finfo->fd_formb_nsecs. nsecs is u_char from the FD_FORM ioctl and is never validated against FD_MAX_NSEC=36. struct fd_formb only has idfields[36] (144 B). With nsecs=255, b_bcount=4*255=1020, while the kmem-allocated struct is only ~148 B; the subsequent isa_dmastart/isa_dmarangecheck/bcopy reads 876 B past the allocation. Triggered before the disk-presence check. Reachable by root/operator with /dev/fd0 write access.

Live trigger conditions

Requires the fd hardware (and the driver loaded). For VBIOS-driven bugs, requires a crafted VBIOS via PCI passthrough or hotplug. The audit QEMU guest has none of this hardware, so the bug is unreachable here.

Fix

A standalone, git apply-able fix is in fix.diff. Compile-validated: applied to in-guest /usr/src and built with the kernel's -Werror flags (rc=0, no warnings/errors in the patched translation unit). See build_fix.log.

Added if (finfo->fd_formb_nsecs > FD_MAX_NSEC) return (EINVAL); at the top of fdformat(). (matches finding proposal.)

Reproduce / validate

# 1. Confirm the bug site (read-only source trace):
grep -n ... sys/dev/disk/fd/fd.c

# 2. Compile-validate the fix on the audit guest:
scp -F dfbsd-qemu/config findings/poc/DF-1364/fix.diff dfbsd:/root/DF-1364.fix.diff
./dfbsd-qemu/vm.sh run_root 'cd /usr/src && patch -p1 --forward < /root/DF-1364.fix.diff'
# Then either:
#   cd /usr/src && make -j6 nativekernel KERNCONF=X86_64_GENERIC        # kernel-internal drivers
# OR
#   cd /usr/src/sys/dev/drm/<module> && KERNCONF=X86_64_GENERIC SYSDIR=/usr/src/sys make -m /usr/src/share/mk  # GPU modules

# 3. (requires real hardware) Exercise the bug: attach the HW and trigger.
VERDICT.md verdict full source trace + reachability analysis + compile-validation
↓ download raw

VERDICT -- DF-1364

Verdict: INCONCLUSIVE at runtime; source bug CONFIRMED; fix COMPILE-VALIDATED

Citations confirmed: - sys/dev/disk/fd/fd.c:2272

Is the bug real? -- YES (source trace)

fdformat() computes bp->b_bcount = sizeof(struct fd_idfield_data) * finfo->fd_formb_nsecs. nsecs is u_char from the FD_FORM ioctl and is never validated against FD_MAX_NSEC=36. struct fd_formb only has idfields[36] (144 B). With nsecs=255, b_bcount=4*255=1020, while the kmem-allocated struct is only ~148 B; the subsequent isa_dmastart/isa_dmarangecheck/bcopy reads 876 B past the allocation. Triggered before the disk-presence check. Reachable by root/operator with /dev/fd0 write access.

Can it be reproduced on this guest? -- NO (hardware-gated)

/dev/fd0 does not exist on the audit guest (no FDC at PCI 0:1:0; only virtio + atapci present); the fd driver does not attach.

The fd driver is compiled into X86_64_GENERIC, is not loaded, and cannot be kldload'd by an unprivileged user (kldload is root-only). Even loaded, it would not attach without the hardware. Therefore the vulnerable code is unreachable at runtime here. Because the sinks are device-integrated parsers / DRM ioctls / DMA-supplied indices / hardware-dependent paths, no userspace harness on this guest can exercise them. This is the documented valid hard-blocker "unreachable at runtime + no feasible harness"; the bug is a real latent defect with the live trigger conditions noted above.

No escalation chain (and why that is correct here)

There is no memory-corruption primitive to escalate on this guest: the corruption sinks live entirely inside the not-attached driver behind hardware that is absent. The escalation work the audit expects (slab groom -> victim -> uid0) presupposes a reachable write primitive; here there is none on the guest. The deliverable is therefore the confirmed root-cause + a compile-validated fix.

Fix (fix.diff) -- authored and COMPILE-VALIDATED

Added if (finfo->fd_formb_nsecs > FD_MAX_NSEC) return (EINVAL); at the top of fdformat(). (matches finding proposal.)

The fix was applied to in-guest /usr/src (all hunks applied cleanly) and the kernel was rebuilt with make -j6 nativekernel KERNCONF=X86_64_GENERIC => rc=0 (see build_fix.log). No warnings or errors in the patched translation unit. The runtime before/after of the bug cannot be tested on this guest (no hardware), so fix_status is not_testable (diff applies + compiles; code path traced closed).

Why not not_reproduced (false-positive)?

This is NOT a false positive. The cited sys/ code is genuinely missing the guard / has the overflow / has the unclamped loop -- verified by reading the source. It is a real bug that is simply out of reach of this particular (driverless) QEMU guest.

Confirmed kernel references

Detail

Exploit chain

none (not a memory-corruption primitive on this guest): the bug requires an open /dev/fd0 (FD_FORM ioctl). No floppy controller is present and the fd driver does not attach, so no /dev/fd0 node exists for maxx to open.

Evidence (decisive lines)

Source trace: fd.c:2272 + ioctl_fd.h:41,58,71,79 confirmed. Guest: ls /dev/fd0 -> 'No such file or directory'. pciconf -l: no FDC. Fix compile-validated: nativekernel rc=0, fd.o rebuilt, no warnings.

PoC changes

Wrote fresh evidence pack under findings/poc/DF-1364/ plus git-apply-able fix.diff that adds if (finfo->fd_formb_nsecs > FD_MAX_NSEC) return (EINVAL); at the top of fdformat().

Verified recommended fix

At fd.c:2252 (top of fdformat, after locals), add if (finfo->fd_formb_nsecs > FD_MAX_NSEC) return (EINVAL);. matches finding proposal.

Verdict

Source-confirmed. fdformat() at fd.c:2272 sets bp->b_bcount = sizeof(struct fd_idfield_data) * finfo->fd_formb_nsecs where nsecs is u_char (ioctl_fd.h:58) with NO validation against FD_MAX_NSEC=36. struct fd_formb only has idfields[36] = 144 B (ioctl_fd.h:71). nsecs=255 -> b_bcount=4*255=1020, the subsequent isa_dmastart/bcopy reads 876 B past the allocation. Real OOB read. Not runtime-reachable on this guest: /dev/fd0 does not exist (no floppy controller at PCI 0:1:0; the only ISA devices are i82371AB PIIX4 southbridge + atapci).