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Corey Leavitt c8e805a2fa fixes #25595; cursor inference: a recorded mutation extends the variable's liveness (#25864)
fixes #25595

## Bug

A `let` bound to a field of a value-type **case object** with a `ref`
field is inferred as a non-owning cursor, but the cursor's source can be
mutated through the cursor's own ref during a call, freeing the ref
while the borrow still reads it. Use-after-free under arc/orc (refc is
unaffected, it has no cursor inference):

```nim
var destroyed = false
type
  O = ref object
    value: int
    home: H
  W = object
    case k: bool
    of true: r: O
    of false: discard
  H = ref object
    w: W
proc `=destroy`(o: var typeof(O()[])) =
  destroyed = true
proc clear(o: O): int =
  o.home.w = W()             # overwrites h.w via the back-reference -> frees the ref
  doAssert not destroyed     # fails: the element was destroyed during the call
  result = o.value
proc go(h: H): int =
  let c = h.w                # inferred cursor (borrow of h.w)
  result = clear(c.r)
proc main =
  let h = H()
  let o = O(value: 42)
  o.home = h
  h.w = W(k: true, r: o)
  doAssert go(h) == 42
main()
```

The `not destroyed` assert fails: the element is destroyed during the
call, so the following `o.value` read is a use-after-free. The same code
with the `=destroy` guard removed (so the freed `o.value` is actually
read) is reported as `heap-use-after-free` by ASan under `-d:useMalloc
-fsanitize=address`. Longstanding (reproduces back to 2.2.0).
`--cursorInference:off` is a workaround.

## Root cause

Cursor inference (`varpartitions.computeCursors`) cursors `let c = h.w`
unless `dangerousMutation` finds a mutation of `c`'s graph within `c`'s
alive range `aliveStart..aliveEnd`. Here the mutation (the `clear(c.r)`
call) *is* connected to `c`'s graph and *is* recorded with `isMutated`,
but it is recorded at an `abstractTime` just past `c.aliveEnd`, so the
range check misses it.

The gap is timing. `aliveEnd` is set from the last `nkSym` use of `c`. A
call records its argument's mutation *after* traversing the whole
argument subtree (`potentialMutationViaArg`). When the argument is `c.r`
on a case object it is an `nkCheckedFieldExpr` (the discriminant check),
whose extra nodes advance `abstractTime` past `c`'s last `nkSym`. A
plain `nkDotExpr` has no such gap, so the bug needs a case object.

## Fix

In `potentialMutation`, extend the mutated variable's liveness to the
mutation time:

```nim
v.s[id].aliveEnd = max(v.s[id].aliveEnd, v.abstractTime)
```

A variable mutated at time T is provably alive at T, so this only
completes the liveness computation that `dangerousMutation` relies on.
The worst case is an extra copy, never an unsound cursor.

## Note on the locus

The fix is conservative by mechanism (it runs at every recorded
mutation) but perf-neutral in practice: it only suppresses a cursor
where the corrected liveness proves the borrow unsafe (cursor counts are
unchanged on the suites). I can scope it to call arguments if you'd
prefer it narrower.

## Test

`tests/arc/t25595.nim`, matrix `--mm:orc; --mm:arc; --mm:refc`: the
repro above as a `doAssert`. Fails (UAF) on arc/orc before the fix and
passes after. refc passes throughout.

## Checks

- repro passes on orc/arc after the fix. The guard-removed variant
(which reads the freed value) is ASan-clean after the fix and was
heap-use-after-free before. refc unaffected.
- testament `destructor` 90/90, `arc` 120/120. `views` 5/6, same as
stock (the one failure is environmental and pre-exists this change).
- perf-neutral: inferred-cursor count is identical stock vs fix across
the `arc` and `destructor` test files under `--mm:orc` (322 vs 322).
2026-06-03 07:25:33 +02:00
2023-03-03 23:37:12 +01:00
2023-08-08 11:13:38 +08:00
2025-11-11 14:00:47 +01:00
2026-01-05 19:36:33 +08:00
2025-11-11 14:00:47 +01:00
2021-03-27 10:36:39 +01:00

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Description
Nim is a statically typed compiled systems programming language. It combines successful concepts from mature languages like Python, Ada and Modula. Its design focuses on efficiency, expressiveness, and elegance (in that order of priority).
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