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CPTAddElement memory leak fix - #3628

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chenuduss wants to merge 7 commits into
owasp-modsecurity:v3/masterfrom
chenuduss:bugfix/memory_leak_CPTCreatePrefix
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chenuduss wants to merge 7 commits into
owasp-modsecurity:v3/masterfrom
chenuduss:bugfix/memory_leak_CPTCreatePrefix

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@chenuduss

@chenuduss chenuduss commented Sep 16, 2026 •

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The pointer returned by CPTCreatePrefix is handled incorrectly in the CPTAddElement function. I have applied fixes and introduced CPTFreePrefix as a companion to CPTCreatePrefix, so the prefix allocation and deallocation logic is no longer scattered across multiple files.

Correction based on the Svace report in my company.

Summary by CodeRabbit

  • Bug Fixes
    • Fixed memory leaks during prefix processing.
    • Improved cleanup when prefix-related allocations fail.
    • Ensured temporary prefix resources are released consistently across processing paths.
    • Added reliable cleanup for prefixes created during tree operations.
    • Improved resource handling during tree construction to prevent retained prefix data after unsuccessful operations.
    • Improved stability during failed tree updates and prefix allocation scenarios.

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Walkthrough

The change adds centralized TreePrefix cleanup through CPTFreePrefix. It updates prefix creation, traversal, tree-head creation, and CPTAddElement failure and early-return paths.

Changes: Prefix cleanup and tree insertion

Layer / File(s) Summary
TreePrefix cleanup API
src/utils/msc_tree.h, src/utils/msc_tree.cc, src/utils/ip_tree.cc
Declares and implements CPTFreePrefix. Uses it for prefix creation failures, post-order traversal cleanup, and node allocation failures.
Tree-head creation integration
src/utils/msc_tree.cc
Makes CPTCreateNode, InsertDataPrefix, and CPTCreateHead internal helpers. Changes their return handling and releases prefixes on CPTAddElement early-return and allocation-failure paths.

Estimated code review effort: 2 (Simple) | ~10 minutes

Change: Bug fix

Merge Risk: Minimal · previous review cde09

The reviewed failure paths now clean up allocated prefix memory correctly, so this change is mergeable with normal checks.

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 4 | ❌ 1

❌ Failed checks (1 warning)

Check name Status Explanation Resolution
Docstring Coverage ⚠️ Warning Docstring coverage is 0.00% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 12 functions across 3 files. Write docstrings for the functions missing them to satisfy the coverage threshold.
✅ Passed checks (4 passed)
Check name Status Explanation
Description Check ✅ Passed Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check ✅ Passed The title clearly identifies the main change: fixing a memory leak in CPTAddElement.
Linked Issues check ✅ Passed Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check ✅ Passed Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
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Actionable comments posted: 1

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Inline comments:
In `@src/utils/msc_tree.cc`:
- Around line 116-117: Update CPTFreePrefix to traverse the prefix_data linked
list via CPTData::next, freeing every element before freeing the prefix itself;
preserve the existing behavior when prefix_data is null.

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Comment thread src/utils/msc_tree.cc Resolved

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🟡 Changes recommended

Moderate cleanup gaps remain on failure and early-return paths in src/utils/msc_tree.cc.

Get a fresh assessment by requesting another Copilot review.

Pull request overview

This PR centralizes TreePrefix cleanup to address memory leaks in radix-tree operations.

Changes:

  • Adds CPTFreePrefix.
  • Applies centralized cleanup across tree destruction and insertion paths.
  • Updates the public header and IP tree usage.
File summaries
File Summary
src/utils/msc_tree.h Declares the prefix cleanup helper.
src/utils/msc_tree.cc Implements cleanup and updates ownership handling.
src/utils/ip_tree.cc Uses centralized prefix deallocation.
Review details
  • Files reviewed: 3/3 changed files
  • Comments generated: 2
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Comment thread src/utils/msc_tree.cc
Comment on lines +112 to +124
void CPTFreePrefix(TreePrefix *prefix) {
if (prefix->buffer) {
free(prefix->buffer);
}

while (prefix->prefix_data) {
CPTData *tmp = prefix->prefix_data;
prefix->prefix_data = tmp->next;
free(tmp);
}

free(prefix);
}
Comment thread src/utils/msc_tree.cc
node->prefix = CPTCreatePrefix(prefix->buffer, prefix->bitlen,
NETMASK_256-1);
}
CPTFreePrefix(prefix);
@airween airween added the 3.x Related to ModSecurity version 3.x label Sep 17, 2026
@chenuduss

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Issues from Copilot AI (17 september 2026) fixed in 35d1051 commit

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Caution

Some comments are outside the diff and can’t be posted inline due to GitHub limitations.

⚠️ Outside diff range comments (1)

🟠 Major · Release the temporary prefix on both CPTCreateNode() failure paths. · msc_tree.cc:336-337

src/utils/msc_tree.cc:336-337
🩺 Stability & Availability | 🟠 Major | ⚡ Quick win

Release the temporary prefix on both CPTCreateNode() failure paths. CPTCreatePrefix() succeeds before each allocation. A failed node allocation leaves prefix unowned and leaked.

  • src/utils/msc_tree.cc#L336-L337: If the head-node allocation fails, call CPTFreePrefix(prefix) before returning.
  • src/utils/msc_tree.cc#L470-L471: If the new-node allocation fails, call CPTFreePrefix(prefix) before returning.
Proposed fix
     if (tree->head == NULL) {
         node = CPTCreateNode();
+        if (node == NULL) {
+            CPTFreePrefix(prefix);
+            return NULL;
+        }
         return CPTCreateHead(prefix, node, tree, netmask, ip_bitmask);
     }
...
     new_node = CPTCreateNode();

-    if(new_node == NULL)
+    if(new_node == NULL) {
+        CPTFreePrefix(prefix);
         return NULL;
+    }
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In `@src/utils/msc_tree.cc` around lines 336 - 337, In src/utils/msc_tree.cc lines
336-337, update the CPTCreateNode() failure path in the head-node creation flow
to free prefix with CPTFreePrefix(prefix) before returning. Apply the same
cleanup in src/utils/msc_tree.cc lines 470-471 for the new-node allocation
failure path, preserving the existing NULL returns.

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Outside diff comments:
In `@src/utils/msc_tree.cc`:
- Around line 336-337: In src/utils/msc_tree.cc lines 336-337, update the
CPTCreateNode() failure path in the head-node creation flow to free prefix with
CPTFreePrefix(prefix) before returning. Apply the same cleanup in
src/utils/msc_tree.cc lines 470-471 for the new-node allocation failure path,
preserving the existing NULL returns.

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@chenuduss

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comment from copilot

src/utils/msc_tree.cc#L336-L337: If the head-node allocation fails, call CPTFreePrefix(prefix) before returning.

In current implementation CPTCreateHead() can not fail, it has useless argument checks (arguments always correct) and never return null after this checks

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Actionable comments posted: 1


  • 🪄 Fix CodeRabbit comments on this PR
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only still-valid issues, skip the rest with a brief reason, keep changes
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Inline comments:
In `@src/utils/msc_tree.cc`:
- Line 224: In CPTAddElement, check the result of CPTCreateNode before
dereferencing it when tree->head is NULL; if allocation fails, free prefix with
CPTFreePrefix and return NULL, otherwise preserve the existing CPTCreateHead
flow.

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Comment thread src/utils/msc_tree.cc Resolved
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So, all comments from copilot resolved. Only unreasonable remarks from SonarQube remain.

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Thanks @chenuduss, this is a good catch.

What I checked: I built the head with ASan + LMDB on macOS and ran the full make check; the ipMatch regression and unit tests pass with no ASan reports. I also compiled msc_tree.cc standalone from v3/master and from this branch and compared them under leaks. On master, duplicate entries leak the temporary prefix, e.g. 1.2.3.4,1.2.3.4 leaks 4 blocks / 144 bytes and 10.0.0.0/8,10.0.0.0/8 leaks 5 blocks. With this PR the prefix leaks are gone and match results are identical. Duplicate lines are pretty common in @ipMatchFromFile lists, so this isn't only an OOM fix. Finally, I failed each of the 55 malloc calls during tree construction one at a time under ASan. I found no double free or use-after-free on any of the new cleanup paths.

  1. (non-blocking) In the i_node->netmasks block of CPTAddElement, the memset(i_node->netmasks, ...) runs before the if (i_node->netmasks == NULL) check. If that malloc fails we crash on the memset, and the CPTFreePrefix(new_node->prefix) cleanup you updated never runs. The same pattern appears a bit earlier, where node->netmasks is malloc'd and memset in the duplicate branch. Both are pre-existing, but since you're touching that block, could you move the memset after the check (or switch to calloc)? Then the new cleanup is actually reachable.
  2. (non-blocking, follow-up) leaks still shows a few 16-byte leaks after this PR. They are netmasks arrays: they're reallocated without freeing the old one (the duplicate branch and InsertNetmask), and set to NULL without a free when node->count drops to 0. That's out of scope here, so I'm just noting it for a separate PR.
  3. (info) The macOS (with lmdb) failures (action-expirevar.json, issue-1831.json) are the LMDB mdb_freelist_save assertion fixed in #3639, unrelated to this change. A rebase on current v3/master should clear them.

LGTM. We'll squash on merge.

@chenuduss

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commmit ab4af7d has fixes for both notes

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sonarqubecloud Bot commented Nov 3, 2026 •

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Quality Gate Passed Quality Gate passed

Issues
5 New issues
1 Accepted issue

Measures
0 Security Hotspots
No data about Coverage
0.0% Duplication on New Code

See analysis details on SonarQube Cloud

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