In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ovpn: run deferred work on a module-owned workqueue ovpn queues several work items whose callbacks execute module text. These works currently run on the global system …

Overview

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

ovpn: run deferred work on a module-owned workqueue

ovpn queues several work items whose callbacks execute module text. These works currently run on the global system workqueues, so module exit has no driver-owned drain point that guarantees the callbacks have fully returned before the module text can be freed.

Object references protect the objects used by the callbacks, but they do not prove that a workqueue function has returned. In particular, a worker can drop the final reference that unblocks device teardown while it is still executing ovpn code.

Add a module-owned workqueue and queue all ovpn work items on it. During module exit, unregister rtnl and netlink first, flush the workqueue so ordinary ovpn workers finish, run the final RCU barrier, and destroy the workqueue last. This keeps the workqueue available for cleanup work queued from RCU callbacks, while ensuring no ovpn work item can outlive the module text.

The per-device delayed keepalive work remains explicitly disabled during netdev teardown (disable_delayed_work_sync in ndo_uninit), since flush_workqueue does not flush delayed work that is still only pending on its timer.

Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.