Mailing List Archive

If an error happens in ftrace, ftrace_kill() will prevent disarming
kprobes. Eventually, the ftrace_ops associated with the kprobes will be
freed, yet the kprobes will still be active, and when triggered, they
will use the freed memory, likely resulting in a page fault and panic.

This behavior can be reproduced quite easily, by creating a kprobe and
then triggering a ftrace_kill(). For simplicity, we can simulate an
ftrace error with a kernel module like [1]:

[1]: https://github.com/brenns10/kernel_stuff/tree/master/ftrace_killer

sudo perf probe --add commit_creds
sudo perf trace -e probe:commit_creds
# In another terminal
make
sudo insmod ftrace_killer.ko # calls ftrace_kill(), simulating bug
# Back to perf terminal
# ctrl-c
sudo perf probe --del commit_creds

After a short period, a page fault and panic would occur as the kprobe
continues to execute and uses the freed ftrace_ops. While ftrace_kill()
is supposed to be used only in extreme circumstances, it is invoked in
FTRACE_WARN_ON() and so there are many places where an unexpected bug
could be triggered, yet the system may continue operating, possibly
without the administrator noticing. If ftrace_kill() does not panic the
system, then we should do everything we can to continue operating,
rather than leave a ticking time bomb.

Signed-off-by: Stephen Brennan <stephen.s.brennan@oracle.com>
---

Apologies for the wide net cast here. I recognize that a change like this
may need to be split up and go through arch-specific trees. I hoped to get
feedback on the patch itself. If it's satisfactory and the architecture
maintainers prefer it split out, I'm glad to do it. Thanks!

arch/csky/kernel/probes/ftrace.c | 3 +++
arch/loongarch/kernel/ftrace_dyn.c | 3 +++
arch/parisc/kernel/ftrace.c | 3 +++
arch/powerpc/kernel/kprobes-ftrace.c | 3 +++
arch/riscv/kernel/probes/ftrace.c | 3 +++
arch/s390/kernel/ftrace.c | 3 +++
arch/x86/kernel/kprobes/ftrace.c | 3 +++
include/linux/ftrace.h | 2 ++
8 files changed, 23 insertions(+)

diff --git a/arch/csky/kernel/probes/ftrace.c b/arch/csky/kernel/probes/ftrace.c
index 834cffcfbce3..3931bf9f707b 100644
--- a/arch/csky/kernel/probes/ftrace.c
+++ b/arch/csky/kernel/probes/ftrace.c
@@ -12,6 +12,9 @@ void kprobe_ftrace_handler(unsigned long ip, unsigned long parent_ip,
struct kprobe_ctlblk *kcb;
struct pt_regs *regs;

+ if (unlikely(ftrace_is_dead()))
+ return;
+
bit = ftrace_test_recursion_trylock(ip, parent_ip);
if (bit < 0)
return;
diff --git a/arch/loongarch/kernel/ftrace_dyn.c b/arch/loongarch/kernel/ftrace_dyn.c
index 73858c9029cc..82c952cb5be0 100644
--- a/arch/loongarch/kernel/ftrace_dyn.c
+++ b/arch/loongarch/kernel/ftrace_dyn.c
@@ -287,6 +287,9 @@ void kprobe_ftrace_handler(unsigned long ip, unsigned long parent_ip,
struct kprobe *p;
struct kprobe_ctlblk *kcb;

+ if (unlikely(ftrace_is_dead()))
+ return;
+
bit = ftrace_test_recursion_trylock(ip, parent_ip);
if (bit < 0)
return;
diff --git a/arch/parisc/kernel/ftrace.c b/arch/parisc/kernel/ftrace.c
index 621a4b386ae4..3660834f54c3 100644
--- a/arch/parisc/kernel/ftrace.c
+++ b/arch/parisc/kernel/ftrace.c
@@ -206,6 +206,9 @@ void kprobe_ftrace_handler(unsigned long ip, unsigned long parent_ip,
struct kprobe *p;
int bit;

+ if (unlikely(ftrace_is_dead()))
+ return;
+
bit = ftrace_test_recursion_trylock(ip, parent_ip);
if (bit < 0)
return;
diff --git a/arch/powerpc/kernel/kprobes-ftrace.c b/arch/powerpc/kernel/kprobes-ftrace.c
index 072ebe7f290b..85eb55aa1457 100644
--- a/arch/powerpc/kernel/kprobes-ftrace.c
+++ b/arch/powerpc/kernel/kprobes-ftrace.c
@@ -21,6 +21,9 @@ void kprobe_ftrace_handler(unsigned long nip, unsigned long parent_nip,
struct pt_regs *regs;
int bit;

+ if (unlikely(ftrace_is_dead()))
+ return;
+
bit = ftrace_test_recursion_trylock(nip, parent_nip);
if (bit < 0)
return;
diff --git a/arch/riscv/kernel/probes/ftrace.c b/arch/riscv/kernel/probes/ftrace.c
index 7142ec42e889..8814fbe4c888 100644
--- a/arch/riscv/kernel/probes/ftrace.c
+++ b/arch/riscv/kernel/probes/ftrace.c
@@ -11,6 +11,9 @@ void kprobe_ftrace_handler(unsigned long ip, unsigned long parent_ip,
struct kprobe_ctlblk *kcb;
int bit;

+ if (unlikely(ftrace_is_dead()))
+ return;
+
bit = ftrace_test_recursion_trylock(ip, parent_ip);
if (bit < 0)
return;
diff --git a/arch/s390/kernel/ftrace.c b/arch/s390/kernel/ftrace.c
index c46381ea04ec..ccbe8ccf945b 100644
--- a/arch/s390/kernel/ftrace.c
+++ b/arch/s390/kernel/ftrace.c
@@ -296,6 +296,9 @@ void kprobe_ftrace_handler(unsigned long ip, unsigned long parent_ip,
struct kprobe *p;
int bit;

+ if (unlikely(ftrace_is_dead()))
+ return;
+
bit = ftrace_test_recursion_trylock(ip, parent_ip);
if (bit < 0)
return;
diff --git a/arch/x86/kernel/kprobes/ftrace.c b/arch/x86/kernel/kprobes/ftrace.c
index dd2ec14adb77..c73f9ab7ff50 100644
--- a/arch/x86/kernel/kprobes/ftrace.c
+++ b/arch/x86/kernel/kprobes/ftrace.c
@@ -21,6 +21,9 @@ void kprobe_ftrace_handler(unsigned long ip, unsigned long parent_ip,
struct kprobe_ctlblk *kcb;
int bit;

+ if (unlikely(ftrace_is_dead()))
+ return;
+
bit = ftrace_test_recursion_trylock(ip, parent_ip);
if (bit < 0)
return;
diff --git a/include/linux/ftrace.h b/include/linux/ftrace.h
index 54d53f345d14..ba83e99c1fbe 100644
--- a/include/linux/ftrace.h
+++ b/include/linux/ftrace.h
@@ -399,6 +399,7 @@ int ftrace_lookup_symbols(const char **sorted_syms, size_t cnt, unsigned long *a
#define register_ftrace_function(ops) ({ 0; })
#define unregister_ftrace_function(ops) ({ 0; })
static inline void ftrace_kill(void) { }
+static inline int ftrace_is_dead(void) { return 0; }
static inline void ftrace_free_init_mem(void) { }
static inline void ftrace_free_mem(struct module *mod, void *start, void *end) { }
static inline int ftrace_lookup_symbols(const char **sorted_syms, size_t cnt, unsigned long *addrs)
@@ -914,6 +915,7 @@ static inline bool is_ftrace_trampoline(unsigned long addr)

/* totally disable ftrace - can not re-enable after this */
void ftrace_kill(void);
+int ftrace_is_dead(void);

static inline void tracer_disable(void)
{
--
2.39.3