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authorZeng Chi <zengchi@kylinos.cn>2026-09-21 18:24:42 +0800
committerSean Christopherson <seanjc@google.com>2026-09-22 08:36:16 -0700
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tree660d50d4139cb750fbde1ae3432452c20726c99d /Documentation/filesystems/failfs.rst
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KVM: Don't pre-reserve xarray entries when storing empty/NULL attributesgrafted
Skip the xarray reservation loop when clearing all memory attributes, as storing NULL only erases the entry and never needs to allocate, so no reservation (and no cleanup of a failed one) is required in that case. Suggested-by: Sean Christopherson <seanjc@google.com> Cc: David Ballesteros <davimaba.v@proton.me> Signed-off-by: Zeng Chi <zengchi@kylinos.cn> Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260921102442.1232375-1-zeng_chi911@163.com [sean: split to separate patch] Signed-off-by: Sean Christopherson <seanjc@google.com>
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+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+======
+failfs
+======
+
+failfs is a kernel-internal filesystem that fails every operation
+reaching it with ``EOPNOTSUPP``. It is the counterpart to nullfs. Where
+nullfs is permanently empty, failfs means "nothing is supported here".
+It cannot be mounted from userspace, nothing can be mounted on top of
+it. It cannot be cloned.
+
+The only way into it is the ``FD_FAILFS_ROOT`` file descriptor sentinel which
+is understood by ``fchdir(2)`` and ``fchroot(2)``.
+
+Semantics
+=========
+
+Every path walk of a component through failfs fails with
+``EOPNOTSUPP`` before that component is parsed, including ``.``.
+
+No path lookup can open the root, not even with ``O_PATH``.
+
+A process with its working directory in failfs fails every
+``AT_FDCWD``-relative lookup. As with any working directory that is
+unreachable from the process root, the ``getcwd(2)`` system call returns
+a path prefixed with ``(unreachable)``.
+
+A process with its root directory in failfs fails every absolute path
+lookup including absolute symlinks and the interpreter of dynamically
+linked binaries. In other words, this fails exec.
+
+Lookups anchored at explicit directory file descriptors keep working. It
+is the ``fs_struct`` equivalent of ``RESOLVE_BENEATH``. The process must
+anchor every lookup at a file descriptor it explicitly holds.
+
+Entering
+========
+
+``fchroot(FD_FAILFS_ROOT, 0)`` requires ``CAP_SYS_CHROOT`` in the
+caller's user namespace, mirroring ``chroot(2)``. Unprivileged callers
+may enter if all of the following hold:
+
+* ``no_new_privs`` is set: setuid binaries on regular mounts remain
+ reachable via inherited directory file descriptors and executing them
+ with an unusable root directory is the classic confused deputy.
+
+* The caller is not already chrooted: the root directory is what
+ confines ``..`` resolution and the failfs root can never be reached by
+ walking up a real mount tree, so moving the root of a chrooted task to
+ failfs would allow it to escape its chroot via ``openat(fd, "..")``.
+
+* The caller does not share its ``fs_struct``: ``no_new_privs`` is
+ checked on the calling thread, but the root lives in the ``fs_struct``.
+ A ``CLONE_FS`` sibling without ``no_new_privs`` could otherwise execute
+ a setuid binary with the failfs root, so entry requires ``fs->users ==
+ 1``, the same restriction ``setns(2)`` applies for the mount and user
+ namespaces.
+
+Leaving
+=======
+
+Backing out is currently hard, but this is a property of the current
+implementation, not a guaranteed interface, and may be loosened later.
+For now a process that entered failfs counts as chrooted, so it cannot
+create user namespaces to regain ``CAP_SYS_CHROOT``, and ``chroot(2)``
+or ``fchroot(2)`` back out require ``CAP_SYS_CHROOT``. The remaining way
+out today is ``setns(2)`` with a mount namespace file descriptor, which
+requires ``CAP_SYS_ADMIN`` over the target mount namespace as well as
+``CAP_SYS_CHROOT`` and ``CAP_SYS_ADMIN`` in the caller's user namespace
+and resets both root and working directory. A process that holds no such
+file descriptor and restricts ``*chdir()``/``*chroot()``/``setns()`` via
+seccomp cannot currently get back out.