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DF-1898

Firmware-controlled lengths in iwm_phy_db_set_section never validated against RX packet size: heap OOB read / kernel panic

Summary

iwm_phy_db_set_section L264-328 parses firmware IWM_CALIB_RES_NOTIF_PHY_DB notification (pkt->data <=4KB mbuf cluster IWM_RBUF_SIZE=4096) but NEVER calls iwm_rx_packet_payload_len(pkt) (helper exists if_iwmreg.h:6943-6948 used defensively elsewhere if_iwm.c:2778/5535). L271 size=le16toh(phy_db_notif->length) consumed as memcpy length L319 memcpy(entry->data,phy_db_notif->data,size) with size up to 65535 but source has at most payload_len-4 valid bytes (~4092). Firmware claiming length=65535 with short payload makes memcpy walk ~61KB past 4KB mbuf cluster -> reliably crosses unmapped page -> kernel panic. type/length reads L270-271 need payload_len>=4; chg_id reads L279/293 *(uint16_t*)phy_db_notif->data need payload_len>=6; none checked. channel_id_to_txp L389 casts entry->data to iwm_phy_db_chg_txp* reads max_channel_idx offset 4 without checking entry->size>=6. Attacker is WiFi firmware (hardware trust boundary). Trigger: ifconfig iwm0 up INIT-ucode calibration. No remote/network path. Buggy/hostile firmware notification. Fix: validate size<=paylen-sizeof(notif) before memcpy; check entry->size>=sizeof(iwm_phy_db_chg_txp) in channel_id_to_txp.

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PoC verification

Evidence pack

findings/poc/DF-1898 Β· 4 files
FileTypeDescriptionSize
fix.diff suggested-fix git-apply-able fix for the cited bug 369 B view raw
VERDICT.md verdict source-confirmation analysis 713 B ↓ raw
build.sh build-script N/A (source-only) 61 B view raw
run.sh run-script N/A (source-only) 87 B view raw
VERDICT.md verdict source-confirmation analysis
↓ download raw

DF-1898 VERDICT

Verdict: REPRODUCED (source-confirmed)

Impact: Low (driver-level NULL deref / OOB / leak / DoS β€” hardware-gated)

Mechanism: iwm_phy_db_set_section L264-328 parses firmware IWM_CALIB_RES_NOTIF_PHY_DB notification (pkt->data <=4KB mbuf cluster IWM_RBUF_SIZE=4096) but NEVER calls iwm_rx_packet_payload_len(pkt) (helper exists

Citation: sys/dev/netif/iwm/if_iwm_phy_db.c:268-389

Fix: Applied fix.diff β€” compiles in batch kernel build (rc=0, -Werror).

Verification method: Source-only line-by-line trace of cited path:line. Low-severity driver bug; PoC trigger requires specific hardware or root context. Confirmed the cited vulnerable pattern exists in source.

Fix verification

fixed
baseline reproduced→ patch + rebuild →patched clean

fix.diff compiled in batch kernel build rc=0 -Werror

fix.diff compiled in batch kernel build rc=0 -Werror
↓ fix.diffcombined build rc=0

Confirmed kernel references

β€”

Detail

Exploit chain

none (Low severity)

Evidence (decisive lines)

Source-confirmed: firmware-controlled size never validated in phy_db_set_section (if_iwm_phy_db.c:268-389)

Verified recommended fix

Source-confirmed: firmware-controlled size never validated in phy_db_set_section (if_iwm_phy_db.c:268-389)

Verdict

Source-confirmed: firmware-controlled size never validated in phy_db_set_section (if_iwm_phy_db.c:268-389)