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DfciPkg: make manager + settings drivers dispatch-order resilient#369

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DfciPkg: make manager + settings drivers dispatch-order resilient#369
kat-perez wants to merge 1 commit into
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kat-perez:personal/katperez/dispatch-order-resilience

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@kat-perez kat-perez commented Jun 17, 2026

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Description

Makes DfciManager work under any DXE dispatcher that ignores [Depex], without changing observable behavior under EDK2 BdsDxe:

  • Replace the three entry-time LocateProtocol calls for gDfciApply*ProtocolGuid (Identity, Permissions, Settings) with RegisterProtocolNotify. Each callback populates its static when the producer installs; when all three are present, a new DfciManagerCompleteInit() runs the original sequence (AllocateManagerData → EndOfDxe callback → QueueMailboxAtSettingAccess).

  • Under EDK2 + [Depex], producers are already present when this driver dispatches, so all three notifies fire synchronously on registration and CompleteInit runs before entry returns — byte-identical observable behavior.

  • Under a dispatcher that ignores [Depex], CompleteInit runs whenever the producers actually arrive.

Also fixes two latent NULL derefs that become reachable when ProcessMailBoxes is re-entered after FreeManagerData() has cleared state (e.g. if a duplicate gDfciSettingAccessProtocolGuid notify registration causes the callback to fire twice):

  • Top-of-ProcessMailBoxes early-exit when mManagerData[MGR_IDENTITY].Data is NULL.
  • Split the existing combined if (Data == NULL || Data->Packet == NULL) in ProcessPacket so the Data == NULL branch doesn't reach the Data->MailboxName dereference inside its DEBUG message.

[Depex] entries are left intact — belt-and-suspenders under EDK2, harmless elsewhere.

  • Impacts functionality?
  • Impacts security? (NULL-deref hardening in a privileged driver)
  • Breaking change?
  • Includes tests?
  • Includes documentation?

How This Was Tested

Built Msft900MaaPkg (DEBUG + RELEASE) under standard EDK2 BdsDxe and verified normal boot through bootmgfw.efi is byte-equivalent to the pre-change firmware. Override-hash validation against a downstream SEMM consumer (which uses DfciManager's [Sources] as its #Override baseline) passes after a one-line hash refresh on the consumer's .inf.

The ProcessMailBoxes re-entry NULL-deref was originally observed on a non-EDK2 dispatcher that registered duplicate gDfciSettingAccessProtocolGuid notifies — the top-of-function guard makes the second invocation safe regardless of dispatcher.

Integration Instructions

N/A — backward compatible with all existing EDK2 BdsDxe consumers.

Note: SettingsManagerDxe's gDfciStartOfBdsNotifyGuid trigger is intentionally left unchanged. Earlier iterations of this work tried moving it to gEfiEndOfDxeEventGroupGuid for universality, but that introduces re-entrant notify dispatch during EndOfDxe that the standard MdeModulePkg/Core/Dxe/DxeMain notify iterator does not survive (downstream consumers like SEMM that CloseEvent from inside the callback corrupt the iterator). Alternate dispatchers that need gDfciSettingAccessProtocolGuid publication should signal gDfciStartOfBdsNotifyGuid explicitly from their own BDS phase after EndOfDxe completes.

@mu-automation mu-automation Bot added the impact:security Has a security impact label Jun 17, 2026
@kat-perez kat-perez force-pushed the personal/katperez/dispatch-order-resilience branch from 1173270 to 1289545 Compare June 17, 2026 21:15
@kat-perez kat-perez marked this pull request as draft June 18, 2026 18:43
DfciManager currently calls LocateProtocol() at entry for the three
gDfciApply*ProtocolGuid producers (Identity, Permissions, Settings).
This is guarded only by [Depex], which BdsDxe honors but alternate
dispatchers do not. If the consumer runs before the producers, the
static pointers stay NULL and a later ProcessMailBoxes call null-derefs.

This commit makes DfciManager dispatch-order resilient without changing
semantics under EDK2 BdsDxe:

* Replace the three entry-time LocateProtocol calls with
  RegisterProtocolNotify. Each callback populates its static when
  the producer installs; when all three are present, a new
  DfciManagerCompleteInit() runs the original sequence
  (AllocateManagerData -> EndOfDxe callback registration ->
  QueueMailboxAtSettingAccess). Under EDK2 the [Depex] still
  ensures producers are present before this driver dispatches, so
  the notifies fire synchronously when registered and CompleteInit
  runs before entry returns - byte-identical observable behavior.
  Under a dispatcher that ignores [Depex], CompleteInit runs when
  the producers actually arrive.

* Fix two latent NULL derefs exposed when ProcessMailBoxes is
  re-entered after FreeManagerData() (e.g. if a second SettingAccess
  notify fires from a duplicate registration):
    - Top-of-ProcessMailBoxes early-exit when
      mManagerData[MGR_IDENTITY].Data is NULL.
    - Split the existing combined `if (Data == NULL || Data->Packet
      == NULL)` in ProcessPacket so the Data == NULL branch doesn't
      reach the `Data->MailboxName` dereference inside its DEBUG.

[Depex] is left intact - belt and suspenders under EDK2, harmless
elsewhere.

SettingsManagerDxe is intentionally left unchanged in this commit.
Its gDfciStartOfBdsNotifyGuid trigger is correct for EDK2 BdsDxe and
moving it to gEfiEndOfDxeEventGroupGuid introduces re-entrant notify
dispatch during EndOfDxe that the EDK2 DxeCore notify iterator does
not survive (SemmManager's CloseEvent-from-callback pattern corrupts
the iterator). Alternate dispatchers that need SettingAccess
publication should signal gDfciStartOfBdsNotifyGuid explicitly in
their BDS phase, after EndOfDxe completes.
@kat-perez kat-perez force-pushed the personal/katperez/dispatch-order-resilience branch from 1289545 to d6978df Compare June 18, 2026 18:50
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