genl_bind() checks the GENL_MCAST_CAP_* flags of a group only when a family owns it. For a group ID that no family owns, it returns 0, so any user can join it. A family registered later can get that ID, and the socket stays a member: nothing checks it again. An unprivileged user can join the free IDs, load a family module with CTRL_CMD_GETFAMILY, which calls request_module(), and then receive the notifications of a group with GENL_MCAST_CAP_NET_ADMIN or GENL_MCAST_CAP_SYS_ADMIN. For example the drop_monitor "events" group always gets ID 1, and is free until the drop_monitor module is loaded. Fix by returning -ENOENT from genl_bind() when no family owns the group. There are no group flags to check before the family registers, so this applies to privileged callers too: a program that joins a fixed ID such as NET_DM_GRP_ALERT before the family is loaded no longer gets its messages. I don't know of a program that does this. One that resolves the family first still joins. bind() takes a mask of groups, and most IDs in it can have no owner. Such a mask used to work, so keep it working: netlink_bind() skips an ID when the bind callback returns -ENOENT, and joins the others. Only genl_bind() returns -ENOENT. A skipped ID is not joined, so it is no longer in the groups that getsockname() and NETLINK_LIST_MEMBERSHIPS report. setsockopt() returns the error, as it asks for one group. This does not cover a family that is unregistered between the check and the point where the membership bit is set. Found by the Sashiko review of the gtp multicast group fix. Tested as an unprivileged user who joins all free IDs, then loads gtp and drop_monitor: Before: joins: ok=62 EPERM=2 gtp/gtp (ID 15): member NET_DM/events (ID 1): member After: joins: ok=19 ENOENT=43 EPERM=2 gtp/gtp (ID 15): not member NET_DM/events (ID 1): not member bind(), an owned group and free IDs: ok, member of the owned group only genl_bind() was added, with its first capability check, in the commit in the Fixes tag. Link: https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/179324692107.3134.14443689892607921337@kernel.org/ Fixes: 4d54cc32112d ("mptcp: avoid lock_fast usage in accept path") Signed-off-by: Anil Kaushik --- v6: - Drop patch 2 of v5, as Jakub found it too ugly. A family unregistered between the check and setting the membership bit is not covered. - Say that early joins to fixed IDs stop working, also for privileged callers, and that NETLINK_LIST_MEMBERSHIPS changes. - Document the -ENOENT meaning on the bind member. - Rebase on net/main. v5: https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/20261104092125.211537-1-anilkaushikwireless@gmail.com/ I used an LLM to help write and review the code, the tests and the commit message of this patch. I checked and tested every change myself. include/linux/netlink.h | 3 +++ net/netlink/af_netlink.c | 6 ++++++ net/netlink/genetlink.c | 3 ++- 3 files changed, 11 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/include/linux/netlink.h b/include/linux/netlink.h index 882e9c1b6c1d..b4eb873850e7 100644 --- a/include/linux/netlink.h +++ b/include/linux/netlink.h @@ -48,6 +48,9 @@ struct netlink_kernel_cfg { unsigned int groups; unsigned int flags; void (*input)(struct sk_buff *skb); + /* -ENOENT means no one owns the group: bind() skips it and joins the + * others, setsockopt() returns the error. + */ int (*bind)(struct net *net, int group); void (*unbind)(struct net *net, int group); void (*release) (struct sock *sk, unsigned long *groups); diff --git a/net/netlink/af_netlink.c b/net/netlink/af_netlink.c index 69bb951b5fb8..ee573ba6396d 100644 --- a/net/netlink/af_netlink.c +++ b/net/netlink/af_netlink.c @@ -1033,6 +1033,12 @@ static int netlink_bind(struct socket *sock, struct sockaddr_unsized *addr, err = nlk->netlink_bind(net, group + 1); if (!err) continue; + /* no one owns this group, still join the others */ + if (err == -ENOENT) { + __clear_bit(group, &groups); + err = 0; + continue; + } netlink_undo_bind(group, groups, sk); return err; } diff --git a/net/netlink/genetlink.c b/net/netlink/genetlink.c index 5cc1037d4917..f038f04ef4ea 100644 --- a/net/netlink/genetlink.c +++ b/net/netlink/genetlink.c @@ -1825,7 +1825,7 @@ static int genl_bind(struct net *net, int group) { const struct genl_family *family; unsigned int id; - int ret = 0; + int ret = -ENOENT; down_read(&cb_lock); @@ -1841,6 +1841,7 @@ static int genl_bind(struct net *net, int group) continue; grp = &family->mcgrps[i]; + ret = 0; if ((grp->flags & GENL_MCAST_CAP_NET_ADMIN) && !ns_capable(net->user_ns, CAP_NET_ADMIN)) ret = -EPERM; -- 2.25.1