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[0/2] wifi: nl80211/wilc1000: force WLAN_AKM_SUITE_SAE to big endian in NL80211_CMD_EXTERNAL_AUTH

Message ID 20240215-nl80211_fix_akm_suites_endianness-v1-0-57e902632f9d@bootlin.com
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Series wifi: nl80211/wilc1000: force WLAN_AKM_SUITE_SAE to big endian in NL80211_CMD_EXTERNAL_AUTH | expand

Message

Alexis Lothoré Feb. 15, 2024, 2:13 p.m. UTC
This small series is the follow-up to discussions started around a sparse
warning in wilc1000 driver ([1]) and implements the solution suggested by
Johannes. It moves a historically needed conversion to be32 in nl80211 (in
NL80211_CMD_EXTERNAL_AUTH, specifically on NL80211_ATTR_AKM_SUITES property
_only_ when it is set to WLAN_AKM_SUITE_SAE) The user scenario affected by
this update is a connect process on a WPA3-protected access point with
authentication offloaded to user-space. Two drivers are affected by the
update: wilc1000 and qtnfmac. wilc1000 case is handled by a small
companion patch which also fixes the sparse warning.

For the quantenna driver, I don't really get how it manipulates AKM suites.
The only thing it currently does on it before calling nl80211 is a
le32_to_cpu. IIUC the raw value (before applying le32_to_cpu) comes from
chip/firmware:
<interrupt>
 qtnf_shm_ipc_irq_handler
  <some callbacks chains>
   qtnf_pcie_control_rx_callback
    qtnf_trans_handle_rx_ctl_packet
     qtnf_trans_event_enqueue => queue skb to processing queue

qtnf_event_work_handler <= dequeue corresponding skb to process
 qtnf_event_process_skb
  qtnf_event_parse
   qtnf_event_handle_external_auth
    cfg80211_external_auth_request => sends NL80211_CMD_EXTERNAL_AUTH

There is no cast to big endian on AKM suite at any point in this chain, but
there are plenty of leXX_to_cpu, so I assume the chip/its firmware sends
its data in little endian. Then, since the be32 conversion is _needed_ with
current wpa_supplicant, I wonder if it works at all in current state, so I
did not modify it. Or has it been tested with another supplicant (iwd ?)
which handles WLAN_AKM_SUITE_SAE differently ? Opinions (and even some
testing) are welcome for this driver, since I do not have the corresponding
hardware.

[1] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-wireless/87a5uatfl1.fsf@kernel.org/

To: Johannes Berg <johannes@sipsolutions.net>
Cc: Ajay Singh <ajay.kathat@microchip.com>
Cc: Kalle Valo <kvalo@kernel.org>
Cc: Thomas Petazzoni <thomas.petazzoni@bootlin.com>
Cc: <linux-wireless@vger.kernel.org>
Cc: <linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org>
Cc: Igor Mitsyanko <imitsyanko@quantenna.com>
Cc: Sergey Matyukevich <geomatsi@gmail.com>

Signed-off-by: Alexis Lothoré <alexis.lothore@bootlin.com>
---
Alexis Lothoré (2):
      wifi: nl80211: force WLAN_AKM_SUITE_SAE in big endian in NL80211_CMD_EXTERNAL_AUTH
      wifi: wilc1000: remove AKM suite be32 conversion for external auth request

 drivers/net/wireless/microchip/wilc1000/cfg80211.c |  2 +-
 net/wireless/nl80211.c                             | 19 ++++++++++++++++++-
 2 files changed, 19 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
---
base-commit: a4c7842e88b0f7d937015e4588ea2a1dec33cf2c
change-id: 20240214-nl80211_fix_akm_suites_endianness-2750a5d7da83

Best regards,

Comments

Alexis Lothoré Feb. 15, 2024, 3:50 p.m. UTC | #1
On 2/15/24 15:13, Alexis Lothoré wrote:
> This small series is the follow-up to discussions started around a sparse
> warning in wilc1000 driver ([1]) and implements the solution suggested by
> Johannes. It moves a historically needed conversion to be32 in nl80211 (in
> NL80211_CMD_EXTERNAL_AUTH, specifically on NL80211_ATTR_AKM_SUITES property
> _only_ when it is set to WLAN_AKM_SUITE_SAE) The user scenario affected by
> this update is a connect process on a WPA3-protected access point with
> authentication offloaded to user-space. Two drivers are affected by the
> update: wilc1000 and qtnfmac. wilc1000 case is handled by a small
> companion patch which also fixes the sparse warning.

Adding Claudio Beznea (co-maintainer for WILC), who got lost when I prepared the
series, sorry.

Also, my mail provider returns error 550 (No Such User Here) for quantenna
driver maintainer (<imitsyanko@quantenna.com>, taken from MAINTAINERS). I've
seen no recent activity from him on the ML, is he still around ?
Kalle Valo Feb. 15, 2024, 4:58 p.m. UTC | #2
Alexis Lothoré <alexis.lothore@bootlin.com> writes:

> User-space supplicant (observed at least on wpa_supplicant) historically
> parses the NL80211_ATTR_AKM_SUITES from the NL80211_CMD_EXTERNAL_AUTH
> message as big endian _only_ when its value is WLAN_AKM_SUITE_SAE, while
> processing anything else in host endian. This behavior makes any driver
> relying on SAE external auth to switch AKM suite to big endian if it is
> WLAN_AKM_SUITE_SAE. A fix bringing compatibility with both endianness
> has been brought into wpa_supplicant, however we must keep compatibility
> with older versions, while trying to reduce the occurences of this manual
> conversion in wireless drivers.
>
> Add the be32 conversion specifically on WLAN_AKM_SUITE_SAE in nl80211 layer
> to keep compatibility with older wpa_supplicant versions.
>
> Suggested-by: Johannes Berg <johannes@sipsolutions.net>
> Signed-off-by: Alexis Lothoré <alexis.lothore@bootlin.com>

A pointer to the discussion would be nice to have:

Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/09eeb7d4-c922-45ee-a1ac-59942153dbce@bootlin.com/

I assume Johannes can add that.

Alexis, thanks so much for working on this! This has been bugging me for
long but never found the time to investigate it.
Kalle Valo Feb. 15, 2024, 5:21 p.m. UTC | #3
Kalle Valo <kvalo@kernel.org> writes:

> (changing subject)
>
> Alexis Lothoré <alexis.lothore@bootlin.com> writes:
>
>> Also, my mail provider returns error 550 (No Such User Here) for quantenna
>> driver maintainer (<imitsyanko@quantenna.com>, taken from MAINTAINERS). I've
>> seen no recent activity from him on the ML, is he still around ?
>
> I found a bounce for imitsyanko@quantenna.com from 2022 so I guess it's
> time to orphan qtnfmac?
>
> Also the purelife maintainer Srini Raju (CCed) is bouncing, that's
> another candidate to orphan.

And confirmed, I just got bounces for both of these maintainers. Patches
welcome to orphan these drivers.

<srini.raju@purelifi.com>: host
    purelifi-com.mail.protection.outlook.com[52.101.68.16] said: 550 5.4.1
    Recipient address rejected: Access denied.
    [DB5PEPF00014B8D.eurprd02.prod.outlook.com 2024-02-15T17:07:03.735Z
    08DC2C530F4F7910] (in reply to RCPT TO command)

<imitsyanko@quantenna.com>: host mail.quantenna.com[50.87.249.29] said: 550 No
    Such User Here (in reply to RCPT TO command)
Jeff Johnson Feb. 15, 2024, 6:51 p.m. UTC | #4
On 2/15/2024 9:21 AM, Kalle Valo wrote:
> <imitsyanko@quantenna.com>: host mail.quantenna.com[50.87.249.29] said: 550 No
>     Such User Here (in reply to RCPT TO command)

Apparently Quantenna was acquired by ON Semi in 2019[1], and in 2022
they closed it down[2]. Seems pretty abandoned to me.

[1]
https://www.eetimes.com/on-semi-to-acquire-wi-fi-chip-vendor-quantenna-for-1-billion/
[2]
https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2022/09/20/onsemi-close-down-quantenna.html
Alexis Lothoré Feb. 16, 2024, 8:21 a.m. UTC | #5
On 2/15/24 17:58, Kalle Valo wrote:
> Alexis Lothoré <alexis.lothore@bootlin.com> writes:
> 
>> User-space supplicant (observed at least on wpa_supplicant) historically
>> parses the NL80211_ATTR_AKM_SUITES from the NL80211_CMD_EXTERNAL_AUTH
>> message as big endian _only_ when its value is WLAN_AKM_SUITE_SAE, while
>> processing anything else in host endian. This behavior makes any driver
>> relying on SAE external auth to switch AKM suite to big endian if it is
>> WLAN_AKM_SUITE_SAE. A fix bringing compatibility with both endianness
>> has been brought into wpa_supplicant, however we must keep compatibility
>> with older versions, while trying to reduce the occurences of this manual
>> conversion in wireless drivers.
>>
>> Add the be32 conversion specifically on WLAN_AKM_SUITE_SAE in nl80211 layer
>> to keep compatibility with older wpa_supplicant versions.
>>
>> Suggested-by: Johannes Berg <johannes@sipsolutions.net>
>> Signed-off-by: Alexis Lothoré <alexis.lothore@bootlin.com>
> 
> A pointer to the discussion would be nice to have:
> 
> Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/09eeb7d4-c922-45ee-a1ac-59942153dbce@bootlin.com/
> 
> I assume Johannes can add that.

Ah yes, indeed. Johannes, please let me know if you prefer me to resend it with
the link in the commit message.

> Alexis, thanks so much for working on this! This has been bugging me for
> long but never found the time to investigate it.

I'm glad to help, especially since I have the corresponding hardware. This
warning was on my radar, and your last complaint about remaining sparse warnings
in the wireless tree eventually triggered the action :)
Kalle Valo Feb. 16, 2024, 9:34 a.m. UTC | #6
Alexis Lothoré <alexis.lothore@bootlin.com> writes:

>> Alexis, thanks so much for working on this! This has been bugging me for
>> long but never found the time to investigate it.
>
> I'm glad to help, especially since I have the corresponding hardware. This
> warning was on my radar, and your last complaint about remaining sparse warnings
> in the wireless tree eventually triggered the action :)

Hah, at least there's one person who reads my complaints :)

I owe you a beer on this one, if we ever meet please remind me.
Kalle Valo Feb. 16, 2024, 9:37 a.m. UTC | #7
Jeff Johnson <quic_jjohnson@quicinc.com> writes:

> On 2/15/2024 9:21 AM, Kalle Valo wrote:
>> <imitsyanko@quantenna.com>: host mail.quantenna.com[50.87.249.29] said: 550 No
>>     Such User Here (in reply to RCPT TO command)
>
> Apparently Quantenna was acquired by ON Semi in 2019[1], and in 2022
> they closed it down[2]. Seems pretty abandoned to me.

Thanks Jeff. I do wonder is anyone even using qtnfmac and plfxlc? Maybe
we should just delete the drivers as nobody seems to care about them?
Igor Mitsyanko Feb. 26, 2024, 2:13 a.m. UTC | #8
On 2/16/24 01:37, Kalle Valo wrote:
> Jeff Johnson <quic_jjohnson@quicinc.com> writes:
>
>> On 2/15/2024 9:21 AM, Kalle Valo wrote:
>>> <imitsyanko@quantenna.com>: host mail.quantenna.com[50.87.249.29] said: 550 No
>>>      Such User Here (in reply to RCPT TO command)
>> Apparently Quantenna was acquired by ON Semi in 2019[1], and in 2022
>> they closed it down[2]. Seems pretty abandoned to me.
> Thanks Jeff. I do wonder is anyone even using qtnfmac and plfxlc? Maybe
> we should just delete the drivers as nobody seems to care about them?
>
(replacing imitsyanko@quantenna.com with my personal email)

Hi Kalle, Jeff,

that's right, Quantenna division was shutdown by ON. To my knowledge no 
users of qtnfmac drivers are left after that. I would think removing 
driver altogether is the right approach. I'm not associated with ON 
anymore so it's just my personal opinion.

CCing Krystal Heaton who I found on ON "contacts" web page (just in case 
someone from ON wants to comment if removing qtnfmac driver from Linux 
kernel is a concern).
Kalle Valo Feb. 27, 2024, 2 p.m. UTC | #9
Igor Mitsyanko <i.mitsyanko@gmail.com> writes:

> On 2/16/24 01:37, Kalle Valo wrote:
>> Jeff Johnson <quic_jjohnson@quicinc.com> writes:
>>
>>> On 2/15/2024 9:21 AM, Kalle Valo wrote:
>>>> <imitsyanko@quantenna.com>: host mail.quantenna.com[50.87.249.29] said: 550 No
>>>>      Such User Here (in reply to RCPT TO command)
>>> Apparently Quantenna was acquired by ON Semi in 2019[1], and in 2022
>>> they closed it down[2]. Seems pretty abandoned to me.
>> Thanks Jeff. I do wonder is anyone even using qtnfmac and plfxlc? Maybe
>> we should just delete the drivers as nobody seems to care about them?
>>
> (replacing imitsyanko@quantenna.com with my personal email)
>
> Hi Kalle, Jeff,
>
> that's right, Quantenna division was shutdown by ON. To my knowledge
> no users of qtnfmac drivers are left after that. I would think
> removing driver altogether is the right approach. I'm not associated
> with ON anymore so it's just my personal opinion.
>
> CCing Krystal Heaton who I found on ON "contacts" web page (just in
> case someone from ON wants to comment if removing qtnfmac driver from
> Linux kernel is a concern).

Sad news but thanks for letting us know. So unless anyone else objects
the plan is to remove qtnfmac driver in the near future.
Stefan Lippers-Hollmann Feb. 28, 2024, 3:02 a.m. UTC | #10
Hi

On 2024-02-27, Kalle Valo wrote:
> Igor Mitsyanko <i.mitsyanko@gmail.com> writes:
> > On 2/16/24 01:37, Kalle Valo wrote:
> >> Jeff Johnson <quic_jjohnson@quicinc.com> writes:
> >>> On 2/15/2024 9:21 AM, Kalle Valo wrote:
[...]
> > that's right, Quantenna division was shutdown by ON. To my knowledge
> > no users of qtnfmac drivers are left after that. I would think
> > removing driver altogether is the right approach. I'm not associated
> > with ON anymore so it's just my personal opinion.
> >
> > CCing Krystal Heaton who I found on ON "contacts" web page (just in
> > case someone from ON wants to comment if removing qtnfmac driver from
> > Linux kernel is a concern).
>
> Sad news but thanks for letting us know. So unless anyone else objects
> the plan is to remove qtnfmac driver in the near future.

In theory, there would be quite a few /potential/ users for qtnfmac
and QT3840BC 'Topaz' (QSR1000) on a variety of early 802.11ac routers
and APs (particularly on ipq8064 SOCs[0]), but as the required qtnfmac
firmware for these chipsets has never been published, there is
no wireless support for (the typically 5 GHz-) "Topaz" wlan chipset
on those devices at all.

The devices are out there (albeit not the most common- or long-lived
combination), but they never had wireless support in the first place
(first because qtnfmac didn't support QSR1000, after that was
rectified[1], because the required firmware for qtnfmac/ QSR1000 has
never been published). It's a bit sad that these never got supported.

Regards
	Stefan Lippers-Hollmann

--
[0] e.g. Linksys E8350, Linksys E8400, Netgear R7500,
    ZyXEL NBG6816 (Armor Z1), ZyXEL WAP6806 (Armor X1) (on mt7621)
    [Disclaimer: I don't own any of these myself, but I regularly
    see requests for Topaz wireless support on the r7500 and e8350]
[1] Tue Oct 16 10:23:58 2018 +0000, qtnfmac: add support for Topaz
    chipsets
    e401fa25cfa23df8b17960a656ff11f49facae84