Chrome · Base
CVE-2026-4441
UAF in Base
Overview
Critical
Severity
—
CVSS
No
Exploited ITW
Fixed
Fix Status
Changed Functions
| Function | Change | Notes |
|---|---|---|
erase_ifbase/callback_list.h |
modified | |
ifbase/callback_list.h |
modified | |
forbase/callback_list.h |
modified |
Files Changed
base/callback_list.h
Patch
From 36acd49636845be2419269acbe9a5137da3d5d96 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Mikel Astiz <mastiz@chromium.org>
Date: Thu, 05 Mar 2026 00:44:39 -0800
Subject: [PATCH] [base] Fix UAF in base::OnceCallbackList on re-entrant Notify()
Before this patch, `base::OnceCallbackList` was susceptible to a
heap-use-after-free when `Notify()` was called re-entrantly.
The UAF occurred because `OnceCallbackList::RunCallback()` immediately
spliced executed nodes out of `callbacks_` and into `null_callbacks_`.
If a nested `Notify()` executed a node that an outer `Notify()` loop was
already holding an iterator to, and that node's subscription was
subsequently destroyed during the re-entrant cycle, the node would be
physically erased from `null_callbacks_`. When control returned to the
outer loop, it would attempt to evaluate the now-dangling iterator.
This CL fixes the bug by deferring list mutations until the outermost
iteration completes:
1. `RunCallback()` no longer splices nodes during iteration.
2. Cancellation logic is pushed down to the subclasses via a new
`CancelCallback()` hook, which is an extension to the pre-existing
`CancelNullCallback()` with increased responsibilities and clearer
semantics.
3. If a subscription is destroyed while `is_iterating` is true,
`OnceCallbackList` resets the node and stashes its iterator in
`pending_erasures_`.
4. A new `CleanUpNullCallbacksPostIteration()` phase runs at the end
of the outermost `Notify()`, which safely splices executed nodes
into `null_callbacks_` and physically erases the pending dead nodes.
As a side effect, the type-trait hack in `Notify()` based on
`is_instantiation<CallbackType, OnceCallback>` can be removed, because
this information is exposed directly by
`OnceCallbackList::CleanUpNullCallbacksPostIteration()`.
The newly-added unit-test
CallbackListTest.OnceCallbackListCancelDuringReentrantNotify reproduces
the scenario and crashed before this patch.
Change-Id: I6b1e2bcb97be1bc8d6a15e5ca7511992e00e1772
Fixed: 489381399
Reviewed-on: https://chromium-review.googlesource.com/c/chromium/src/+/7627506
Commit-Queue: Mikel Astiz <mastiz@chromium.org>
Reviewed-by: Gabriel Charette <gab@chromium.org>
Cr-Commit-Position: refs/heads/main@{#1594520}
---
diff --git a/base/callback_list.h b/base/callback_list.h
index 174c5769..5f8cc87 100644
--- a/base/callback_list.h
+++ b/base/callback_list.h
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
#include <list>
#include <memory>
#include <utility>
+#include <vector>
#include "base/auto_reset.h"
#include "base/base_export.h"
@@ -16,7 +17,6 @@
#include "base/functional/bind.h"
#include "base/functional/callback.h"
#include "base/memory/weak_ptr.h"
-#include "base/types/is_instantiation.h"
// OVERVIEW:
//
@@ -240,17 +240,14 @@
// Any null callbacks remaining in the list were canceled due to
// Subscription destruction during iteration, and can safely be erased now.
- const size_t erased_callbacks =
- std::erase_if(callbacks_, [](const auto& cb) { return cb.is_null(); });
+ const bool any_callbacks_erased = static_cast<CallbackListImpl*>(this)
+ ->CleanUpNullCallbacksPostIteration();
- // Run |removal_callback_| if any callbacks were canceled. Note that we
- // cannot simply compare list sizes before and after iterating, since
- // notification may result in Add()ing new callbacks as well as canceling
- // them. Also note that if this is a OnceCallbackList, the OnceCallbacks
- // that were executed above have all been removed regardless of whether
- // they're counted in |erased_callbacks_|.
- if (removal_callback_ &&
- (erased_callbacks || is_instantiation<CallbackType, OnceCallback>)) {
+ // Run |removal_callback_| if any callbacks were canceled or executed. Note
+ // that simply comparing list sizes before and after iterating cannot be
+ // done, since notification may result in Add()ing new callbacks as well as
+ // canceling them.
+ if (removal_callback_ && any_callbacks_erased) {
removal_callback_.Run(); // May delete |this|!
}
}
@@ -264,21 +261,9 @@
private:
// Cancels the callback pointed to by |it|, which is guaranteed to be valid.
void CancelCallback(const typename Callbacks::iterator& it) {
- if (static_cast<CallbackListImpl*>(this)->CancelNullCallback(it)) {
- return;
- }
-
- if (iterating_) {
- // Calling erase() here is unsafe, since the loop in Notify() may be
- // referencing this same iterator, e.g. if adjacent callbacks'
- // Subscriptions are both destroyed when the first one is Run(). Just
- // reset the callback and let Notify() clean it up at the end.
- it->Reset();
- } else {
- callbacks_.erase(it);
- if (removal_callback_) {
- removal_callback_.Run(); // May delete |this|!
- }
+ if (static_cast<CallbackListImpl*>(this)->CancelCallback(it, iterating_) &&
+ removal_callback_) {
+ removal_callback_.Run(); // May delete |this|!
}
}
@@ -304,23 +289,71 @@
// Runs the current callback, which may cancel it or any other callbacks.
template <typename... RunArgs>
void RunCallback(typename Traits::Callbacks::iterator it, RunArgs&&... args) {
- // OnceCallbacks still have Subscriptions with outstanding iterators;
- // splice() removes them from |callbacks_| without invalidating those.
- null_callbacks_.splice(null_callbacks_.end(), this->callbacks_, it);
+ // Do not splice here. Splicing during iteration breaks re-entrant Notify()
+ // by invalidating the outer loop's iterator. Splicing is deferred to
+ // CleanUpNullCallbacksPostIteration(), which is called when the outermost
+ // Notify() finishes.
// NOTE: Intentionally does not call std::forward<RunArgs>(args)...; see
// comments in Notify().
std::move(*it).Run(args...);
}
- // If |it| refers to an already-canceled callback, does any necessary cleanup
- // and returns true. Otherwise returns false.
- bool CancelNullCallback(const typename Traits::Callbacks::iterator& it) {
- if (it->is_null()) {
- null_callbacks_.erase(it);
- return true;
+ // Called during subscription destruction to cancel the callback. Returns true
+ // if the callback was removed from the active list and the generic removal
+ // callback should be executed. Returns false if the callback was already
+ // executed, or if the erasure is deferred due to active iteration.
+ bool CancelCallback(const typename Traits::Callbacks::iterator& it,
+ bool is_iterating) {
+ if (is_iterating) {
+ // During iteration, nodes cannot be safely erased from |callbacks_|
+ // without invalidating iterators. They also cannot be spliced into
+ // |null_callbacks_| right now. Thus, the node is reset and tracked for
+ // erasure in CleanUpNullCallbacksPostIteration().
+ it->Reset();
+ pending_erasures_.push_back(it);
+ return false;
}
- return false;
+
+ if (it->is_null()) {
+ // The callback already ran, so it's safely sitting in |null_callbacks_|.
+ null_callbacks_.erase(it);
+ return false;
+ }
+
+ // The callback hasn't run yet, so it's still in |callbacks_|.
+ this->callbacks_.erase(it);
+ return true;
+ }
+
+ // Performs post-iteration cleanup. Successfully executed callbacks (which
+ // become null) are spliced into |null_callbacks_| to keep their
+ // Subscriptions' iterators valid. Callbacks explicitly canceled during
+ // iteration (tracked in |pending_erasures_|) are erased. Returns true if any
+ // callbacks were erased or spliced out.
+ bool CleanUpNullCallbacksPostIteration() {
+ bool any_spliced = false;
+ for (auto it = this->callbacks_.begin(); it != this->callbacks_.end();) {
+ if (it->is_null()) {
+ any_spliced = true;
+ auto next = std::next(it);
+ null_callbacks_.splice(null_callbacks_.end(), this->callbacks_, it);
+ it = next;
+ } else {
+ ++it;
+ }
+ }
+
+ bool any_erased = !pending_erasures_.empty();
+ for (auto pending_it : pending_erasures_) {
+ // Note: `pending_it` was originally an iterator into `callbacks_`, but
+ // the node it points to has just been spliced into `null_callbacks_`. The
+ // iterator itself remains valid and can now be used for erasure from
+ // `null_callbacks_`.
+ null_callbacks_.erase(pending_it);
+ }
+ pending_erasures_.clear();
+ return any_spliced || any_erased;
}
// Holds null callbacks whose Subscriptions are still alive, so the
@@ -328,6 +361,11 @@
Loading diff…
Regression Test / PoC
shipped with the fix
diff --git a/base/callback_list_unittest.cc b/base/callback_list_unittest.cc
index 74742785..a855443f 100644
--- a/base/callback_list_unittest.cc
+++ b/base/callback_list_unittest.cc
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
#include "base/functional/bind.h"
#include "base/functional/callback_helpers.h"
#include "base/memory/raw_ptr.h"
+#include "base/test/bind.h"
#include "base/test/test_future.h"
#include "testing/gtest/include/gtest/gtest.h"
@@ -577,6 +578,30 @@
EXPECT_EQ(1, d.total());
}
+// Regression test for crbug.com/489381399: Verifies Notify() can be called
+// reentrantly for OnceCallbackList even if a callback is canceled during the
+// reentrant notification.
+TEST(CallbackListTest, OnceCallbackListCancelDuringReentrantNotify) {
+ OnceClosureList cb_reg;
+ CallbackListSubscription sub_a, sub_b;
+
+ auto cb_a = base::BindLambdaForTesting([&]() {
+ // Re-entrant notification.
+ cb_reg.Notify();
+ // After re-entrant notification returns, sub_b has been run. Destroying it
+ // now should be a no-op.
+ sub_b = {};
+ });
+
+ auto cb_b = base::DoNothing();
+
+ sub_a = cb_reg.Add(std::move(cb_a));
+ sub_b = cb_reg.Add(std::move(cb_b));
+
+ // This should not crash.
+ cb_reg.Notify();
+}
+
TEST(CallbackListTest, ClearPreventsInvocation) {
Listener listener;
RepeatingClosureList cb_reg;
Loading diff…
Original Bug Report
reported by ma...@google.com
Heap-use-after-free in base::OnceCallbackList during re-entrant Notify()
base::OnceCallbackList contains a re-entrancy bug that leads to a heap-use-after-free (UAF) if a callback triggers a nested Notify() and a subsequent callback’s subscription is destroyed before the outer Notify() loop resumes.
The UAF occurs due to iterator invalidation caused by moving list nodes between std::list containers during active iteration.
References
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