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authorJinke Han <jinkehan@didiglobal.com>2026-09-08 15:37:42 +0800
committerIngo Molnar <mingo@kernel.org>2026-09-17 09:48:42 +0200
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tree73fef824f9a846cf935869d0dbc5070ef6e2f741 /Documentation/filesystems/failfs.rst
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x86/kprobes: Fix crash when probing CS CALL instructionsgrafted
When using eBPF to probe CS CALL instructions within a function, a crash can be triggered. The eBPF tool probes offset 257 of the __hrtimer_run_queues() function: <__hrtimer_run_queues+249>: nopl 0x0(%rax,%rax,1) <__hrtimer_run_queues+254>: mov %r14,%rdi <__hrtimer_run_queues+257>: cs call <__x86_indirect_thunk_r12> <__hrtimer_run_queues+263>: mov %eax,%r12d <__hrtimer_run_queues+266>: xchg %ax,%ax <__hrtimer_run_queues+268>: mov %r13,%rdi Which triggers this crash: BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: 00000000000f41c9 #PF: supervisor write access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0002) - not-present page PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: 0002 [#1] SMP NOPTI CPU: 1 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/1 Kdump: loaded Tainted: P RIP: 0010:__hrtimer_run_queues+0x106/0x230 Note that __hrtimer_run_queues+0x106 is __hrtimer_run_queues+262, which is at the 6th byte of the above CS CALL instruction. Since the CS CALL instruction occupies 6 bytes, the exception occurred in the middle of that call instruction. The root cause is that when using eBPF tools to probe in the middle of a function, a kprobe with INT3 is used as the underlying implementation. During single-step emulation of the original CALL instruction, int3_emulate_call() assumes that the probed CALL instruction is 5 bytes long. However, the actual CS-prefixed CALL instruction occupies 6 bytes, so it constructs an incorrect exception return address. When the CPU returns from the kprobe handler, the next instruction to be executed is at the address of the last byte of that CS CALL instruction. Coincidentally, starting from that address, the CPU fetches and decodes a completely different instruction, which ultimately triggers a kernel crash. Fix the issue by using the actual instruction length obtained from the instruction decoder when constructing the exception return address, rather than relying on the hardcoded CALL_INSN_SIZE macro. [ mingo: Refined the changelog ] Fixes: 6256e668b7af ("x86/kprobes: Use int3 instead of debug trap for single-step") Suggested-by: Masami Hiramatsu (Google) <mhiramat@kernel.org> Signed-off-by: Jinke Han <jinkehan@didiglobal.com> Signed-off-by: Ingo Molnar <mingo@kernel.org> Reviewed-by: Masami Hiramatsu (Google) <mhiramat@kernel.org> Acked-by: Yafang Shao <laoar.shao@gmail.com> Acked-by: Borislav Petkov <bp@alien8.de> Cc: Peter Zijlstra <peterz@infradead.org> Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260908073742.GA10517@didi-ThinkCentre-M920t-N000
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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.