From: Anshu Kumari <anskuma@redhat.com>
To: passt-dev@passt.top, sbrivio@redhat.com
Cc: anskuma@redhat.com
Subject: [PATCH v2] tcp: Avoid division by zero with small MSS values
Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:48:20 +0530 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20261026111820.1600260-1-anskuma@redhat.com> (raw)
Fuzz testing with AFL++ persistent mode found that
tcp_buf_data_from_sock() terminates the process with SIGFPE
(signal 8) from division by zero at:
fill_bufs = DIV_ROUND_UP(wnd_scaled - already_sent, mss);
when MSS is small enough (less than four) to round down to 0
during the bit-shift in MSS_SET(). The termination itself is
clean (not memory corruption or data leakage), but we can
handle this condition more gracefully.
We considered resetting connections with a zero or very low
MSS, but concluded this is not RFC-compliant: RFC 9293,
section 3.1 (MUST-7), states: "TCP implementations MUST be
prepared to handle an illegal option length (e.g., zero); a
suggested procedure is to reset the connection and log the
error cause." However, this applies only to option *lengths*,
not *values* — no standard RFC defines a minimum MSS value.
Section 3.5.2 further states: "A reset must not be sent if
it is not clear that this is the case." Very low MSS values
also have legitimate uses in microcontroller applications
with limited buffers, and a zero MSS could represent a
unidirectional connection.
Rounding a low MSS upward is also not an option: emitting
segments larger than the peer advertised violates the
effective send MSS requirement in RFC 9293, section 3.7.1.
Instead, preserve the actual MSS:
- Adjust MSS_SET() to clamp non-zero values below 4 to 1,
avoiding the round-to-zero in bit-field storage.
- Adjust MSS_GET() to return 1 when tap_mss is 1, so we
never inflate the MSS beyond what the peer advertised.
- When MSS is zero, don't send data:
tcp_buf_data_from_sock() returns early. The peer will
eventually determine the connection is unusable and
reset it.
Signed-off-by: Anshu Kumari <anskuma@redhat.com>
---
v2:
- added comment for both MSS_SET() and MSS_GET() macro.
- fixed/modified MSS_GET().
- fixed commit message by explaining why we are not
resetting the connection.
NOTE: let the fuzzer run for more than a day with this
fix but till now, haven't found any issue.
---
tcp_buf.c | 3 +++
tcp_conn.h | 10 ++++++++--
2 files changed, 11 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
diff --git a/tcp_buf.c b/tcp_buf.c
index 72c45412..ee8c7ce8 100644
--- a/tcp_buf.c
+++ b/tcp_buf.c
@@ -335,6 +335,9 @@ int tcp_buf_data_from_sock(const struct ctx *c, struct tcp_tap_conn *conn,
struct iovec *iov;
uint32_t seq;
+ if (!mss)
+ return 0;
+
/* Set up buffer descriptors we'll fill completely and partially. */
fill_bufs = DIV_ROUND_UP(wnd_scaled - already_sent, mss);
if (fill_bufs > TCP_FRAMES) {
diff --git a/tcp_conn.h b/tcp_conn.h
index e3c55341..3173ddb9 100644
--- a/tcp_conn.h
+++ b/tcp_conn.h
@@ -51,8 +51,14 @@ struct tcp_tap_conn {
#define TCP_MSS_BITS 14
unsigned int tap_mss :TCP_MSS_BITS;
-#define MSS_SET(conn, mss) (conn->tap_mss = (mss >> (16 - TCP_MSS_BITS)))
-#define MSS_GET(conn) (conn->tap_mss << (16 - TCP_MSS_BITS))
+
+ /* Clamp non-zero MSS < 4 to 1 to avoid rounding to zero */
+#define MSS_SET(conn, mss) \
+ (conn->tap_mss = (mss) ? MAX(1, (mss) >> (16 - TCP_MSS_BITS)) : 0)
+
+ /* tap_mss is stored as 1 for any non-zero MSS value <= 4 */
+#define MSS_GET(conn) \
+ ((conn->tap_mss == 1) ? 1 : (conn->tap_mss << (16 - TCP_MSS_BITS)))
#define RTT_EXP_BITS 4
unsigned int rtt_exp :RTT_EXP_BITS;
--
2.55.0
reply other threads:[~2026-10-26 11:18 UTC|newest]
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