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| author | Xie Yuanbin <xieyuanbin1@huawei.com> | 2026-07-28 03:16:42 +0100 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | Russell King <rmk+kernel@armlinux.org.uk> | 2026-08-05 16:15:51 +0100 |
| commit | 1039bffd6ae9c75b42b7d148d6c1106134107b66 (patch) | |
| tree | e8ee4ac80f87e2ad1b6b0c877eccbb62b0915c02 /Documentation/livepatch/system-state.rst | |
| download | linux-stable-1039bffd6ae9c75b42b7d148d6c1106134107b66.tar.gz linux-stable-1039bffd6ae9c75b42b7d148d6c1106134107b66.zip | |
ARM: 9485/1: mm: acquire mmap write lock around show_pte() for user faultsgrafted
When CONFIG_DEBUG_USER=y, and cmdline "user_debug=31" is set,
a user fault may trigger show_pte() without any lock.
If another thread in the same process concurrently calls munmap(),
the page table pages may be freed while show_pte() is still traversing
them, causing a use-after-free in show_pte().
If CONFIG_ARM_LPAE=y, this may cause a kernel panic if the pages table
of PMD are freed when show_pte() is running.
Acquire mmap_write_lock() around show_pte() for user faults to fix the
contention.
For user faults, additionally restrict that show_pte() is called only
when the addr is a user-space address (addr < TASK_SIZE). This is because
the lock of tsk->mm only protects the virtual memory of user address space,
furthermore, dumping the page tables of a kernel-space address for user
faults is unnecessary and may have security implications.
Keep everything unchanged for kernel faults, because the kernel is
already in the "oops" state, acquiring a lock may risk a deadlock.
Co-developed-by: Qi Xi <xiqi2@huawei.com>
Fixes: 6d021b724481 ("ARM: dump pgd, pmd and pte states on unhandled data abort faults")
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/20260716014022.2823-1-xieyuanbin1@huawei.com
Acked-by: Lorenzo Stoakes (ARM) <ljs@kernel.org>
Reviewed-by: Linus Walleij <linusw@kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Qi Xi <xiqi2@huawei.com>
Signed-off-by: Xie Yuanbin <xieyuanbin1@huawei.com>
Signed-off-by: Russell King <rmk+kernel@armlinux.org.uk>
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/livepatch/system-state.rst')
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/livepatch/system-state.rst | 167 |
1 files changed, 167 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/livepatch/system-state.rst b/Documentation/livepatch/system-state.rst new file mode 100644 index 000000000..7a3935fd8 --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/livepatch/system-state.rst @@ -0,0 +1,167 @@ +==================== +System State Changes +==================== + +Some users are really reluctant to reboot a system. This brings the need +to provide more livepatches and maintain some compatibility between them. + +Maintaining more livepatches is much easier with cumulative livepatches. +Each new livepatch completely replaces any older one. It can keep, +add, and even remove fixes. And it is typically safe to replace any version +of the livepatch with any other one thanks to the atomic replace feature. + +The problems might come with shadow variables and callbacks. They might +change the system behavior or state so that it is no longer safe to +go back and use an older livepatch or the original kernel code. Also +any new livepatch must be able to detect what changes have already been +done by the already installed livepatches. + +This is where the livepatch system state tracking gets useful. It +allows to: + + - store data needed to manipulate and restore the system state + + - define compatibility between livepatches using a change id + and version + + +1. Livepatch system state API +============================= + +The state of the system might get modified either by several livepatch callbacks +or by the newly used code. Also it must be possible to find changes done by +already installed livepatches. + +Each modified state is described by struct klp_state, see +include/linux/livepatch.h. + +Each livepatch defines an array of struct klp_states. They mention +all states that the livepatch modifies. + +The livepatch author must define the following two fields for each +struct klp_state: + + - *id* + + - Non-zero number used to identify the affected system state. + + - *version* + + - Number describing the variant of the system state change that + is supported by the given livepatch. + +The state can be manipulated using two functions: + + - klp_get_state() + + - Get struct klp_state associated with the given livepatch + and state id. + + - klp_get_prev_state() + + - Get struct klp_state associated with the given feature id and + already installed livepatches. + +2. Livepatch compatibility +========================== + +The system state version is used to prevent loading incompatible livepatches. +The check is done when the livepatch is enabled. The rules are: + + - Any completely new system state modification is allowed. + + - System state modifications with the same or higher version are allowed + for already modified system states. + + - Cumulative livepatches must handle all system state modifications from + already installed livepatches. + + - Non-cumulative livepatches are allowed to touch already modified + system states. + +3. Supported scenarios +====================== + +Livepatches have their life-cycle and the same is true for the system +state changes. Every compatible livepatch has to support the following +scenarios: + + - Modify the system state when the livepatch gets enabled and the state + has not been already modified by a livepatches that are being + replaced. + + - Take over or update the system state modification when is has already + been done by a livepatch that is being replaced. + + - Restore the original state when the livepatch is disabled. + + - Restore the previous state when the transition is reverted. + It might be the original system state or the state modification + done by livepatches that were being replaced. + + - Remove any already made changes when error occurs and the livepatch + cannot get enabled. + +4. Expected usage +================= + +System states are usually modified by livepatch callbacks. The expected +role of each callback is as follows: + +*pre_patch()* + + - Allocate *state->data* when necessary. The allocation might fail + and *pre_patch()* is the only callback that could stop loading + of the livepatch. The allocation is not needed when the data + are already provided by previously installed livepatches. + + - Do any other preparatory action that is needed by + the new code even before the transition gets finished. + For example, initialize *state->data*. + + The system state itself is typically modified in *post_patch()* + when the entire system is able to handle it. + + - Clean up its own mess in case of error. It might be done by a custom + code or by calling *post_unpatch()* explicitly. + +*post_patch()* + + - Copy *state->data* from the previous livepatch when they are + compatible. + + - Do the actual system state modification. Eventually allow + the new code to use it. + + - Make sure that *state->data* has all necessary information. + + - Free *state->data* from replaces livepatches when they are + not longer needed. + +*pre_unpatch()* + + - Prevent the code, added by the livepatch, relying on the system + state change. + + - Revert the system state modification.. + +*post_unpatch()* + + - Distinguish transition reverse and livepatch disabling by + checking *klp_get_prev_state()*. + + - In case of transition reverse, restore the previous system + state. It might mean doing nothing. + + - Remove any not longer needed setting or data. + +.. note:: + + *pre_unpatch()* typically does symmetric operations to *post_patch()*. + Except that it is called only when the livepatch is being disabled. + Therefore it does not need to care about any previously installed + livepatch. + + *post_unpatch()* typically does symmetric operations to *pre_patch()*. + It might be called also during the transition reverse. Therefore it + has to handle the state of the previously installed livepatches. |
