Re: [PATCH] Use kzfree in mac80211 key handling to enforce data sanitization

[Rik van Riel]

Larry H. wrote:
> [PATCH] Use kzfree in mac80211 key handling to enforce data sanitization
>
> This patch replaces the kfree() calls within the mac80211 WEP RC4 key
> handling and ieee80211 management APIs with kzfree(), to enforce
> sanitization of the key buffer contents.
>
> This prevents the keys from persisting on memory, potentially
> leaking to other kernel users after re-allocation of the memory by
> the LIFO allocators, or in coldboot attack scenarios. Information can be
> leaked as well due to use of uninitialized variables, or other bugs.
>
> This patch doesn't affect fastpaths.

This seems to be essentially what Ingo proposed.

Clearing out a buffer that held a wifi key on free
makes sense, even for systems that are not in
paranoid mode.

> Signed-off-by: Larry Highsmith <research@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Acked-by: Rik van Riiel <riel@xxxxxxxxxx>

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