In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
serial: core: fix infinite loop in handle_tx() for PORT_UNKNOWN
uart_write_room() and uart_write() behave inconsistently when xmit_buf is NULL (which happens for PORT_UNKNOWN ports that were never properly initialized):
- uart_write_room() returns kfifo_avail() which can be > 0
- uart_write() checks xmit_buf and returns 0 if NULL
This inconsistency causes an infinite loop in drivers that rely on tty_write_room() to determine if they can write:
while (tty_write_room(tty) > 0) { written = tty->ops->write(...); // written is always 0, loop never exits }
For example, caif_serial's handle_tx() enters an infinite loop when used with PORT_UNKNOWN serial ports, causing system hangs.
Fix by making uart_write_room() also check xmit_buf and return 0 if it's NULL, consistent with uart_write().
Reproducer: https://gist.github.com/mrpre/d9a694cc0e19828ee3bc3b37983fde13