CyberRota Analysis
AI-GeneratedThe vulnerability in the Linux kernel affects the OpenVPN implementation, specifically related to a reference count leak in TCP error handling paths. This flaw can lead to memory leaks as the peer object is not properly freed when certain conditions are met, potentially impacting system stability and resource management. Organizations using Linux systems that implement OpenVPN should prioritize addressing this issue to prevent potential performance degradation and resource exhaustion.
Original NVD Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ovpn: fix peer refcount leak in TCP error paths When either the TCP RX or TX error path calls ovpn_peer_hold() followed by schedule_work(&peer->tcp.defer_del_work), and the work item is already pending from the other path, schedule_work() returns false and the work runs only once. Since ovpn_tcp_peer_del_work() calls ovpn_peer_put() exactly once, the extra reference taken by the losing path is never dropped, leaking the peer object. The race window: CPU0 (strparser/RX error): CPU1 (tcp_tx_work/TX error): ovpn_peer_hold() <- refcnt+1 ovpn_peer_hold() <- refcnt+2 schedule_work() <- queued schedule_work() <- NO-OP (work already pending) ovpn_tcp_peer_del_work runs: ovpn_peer_del() ovpn_peer_put() <- refcnt+1 <- peer never freed Fix by checking the return value of schedule_work() in both paths and calling ovpn_peer_put() to drop the extra reference if the work was already pending. ovpn_peer_hold() is kept unconditional in the TX path as it cannot fail at that point.