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Jeff Xu 653c5c7511 mm/memfd: add documentation for MFD_NOEXEC_SEAL MFD_EXEC
When MFD_NOEXEC_SEAL was introduced, there was one big mistake: it didn't
have proper documentation.  This led to a lot of confusion, especially
about whether or not memfd created with the MFD_NOEXEC_SEAL flag is
sealable.  Before MFD_NOEXEC_SEAL, memfd had to explicitly set
MFD_ALLOW_SEALING to be sealable, so it's a fair question.

As one might have noticed, unlike other flags in memfd_create,
MFD_NOEXEC_SEAL is actually a combination of multiple flags.  The idea is
to make it easier to use memfd in the most common way, which is NOEXEC +
F_SEAL_EXEC + MFD_ALLOW_SEALING.  This works with sysctl vm.noexec to help
existing applications move to a more secure way of using memfd.

Proposals have been made to put MFD_NOEXEC_SEAL non-sealable, unless
MFD_ALLOW_SEALING is set, to be consistent with other flags [1], Those
are based on the viewpoint that each flag is an atomic unit, which is a
reasonable assumption.  However, MFD_NOEXEC_SEAL was designed with the
intent of promoting the most secure method of using memfd, therefore a
combination of multiple functionalities into one bit.

Furthermore, the MFD_NOEXEC_SEAL has been added for more than one year,
and multiple applications and distributions have backported and utilized
it.  Altering ABI now presents a degree of risk and may lead to
disruption.

MFD_NOEXEC_SEAL is a new flag, and applications must change their code to
use it.  There is no backward compatibility problem.

When sysctl vm.noexec == 1 or 2, applications that don't set
MFD_NOEXEC_SEAL or MFD_EXEC will get MFD_NOEXEC_SEAL memfd.  And
old-application might break, that is by-design, in such a system vm.noexec
= 0 shall be used.  Also no backward compatibility problem.

I propose to include this documentation patch to assist in clarifying the
semantics of MFD_NOEXEC_SEAL, thereby preventing any potential future
confusion.

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to David Rheinsberg and
Barnabás Pőcze for initiating the discussion on the topic of sealability.

[1]
https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20230714114753.170814-1-david@readahead.eu/

[jeffxu@chromium.org: updates per Randy]
  Link: https://lkml.kernel.org/r/20240611034903.3456796-2-jeffxu@chromium.org
[jeffxu@chromium.org: v3]
  Link: https://lkml.kernel.org/r/20240611231409.3899809-2-jeffxu@chromium.org
Link: https://lkml.kernel.org/r/20240607203543.2151433-2-jeffxu@google.com
Signed-off-by: Jeff Xu <jeffxu@chromium.org>
Reviewed-by: Randy Dunlap <rdunlap@infradead.org>
Cc: Aleksa Sarai <cyphar@cyphar.com>
Cc: Barnabás Pőcze <pobrn@protonmail.com>
Cc: Daniel Verkamp <dverkamp@chromium.org>
Cc: David Rheinsberg <david@readahead.eu>
Cc: Dmitry Torokhov <dmitry.torokhov@gmail.com>
Cc: Hugh Dickins <hughd@google.com>
Cc: Jorge Lucangeli Obes <jorgelo@chromium.org>
Cc: Kees Cook <keescook@chromium.org>
Cc: Shuah Khan <skhan@linuxfoundation.org>
Signed-off-by: Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>
2024-06-15 10:43:07 -07:00
arch mm: mmap: allow for the maximum number of bits for randomizing mmap_base by default 2024-06-15 10:43:06 -07:00
block blk-throttle: Fix incorrect display of io.max 2024-05-30 19:44:29 -06:00
certs kbuild: use $(src) instead of $(srctree)/$(src) for source directory 2024-05-10 04:34:52 +09:00
crypto This push fixes a bug in the new ecc P521 code as well as a buggy 2024-05-20 08:47:54 -07:00
Documentation mm/memfd: add documentation for MFD_NOEXEC_SEAL MFD_EXEC 2024-06-15 10:43:07 -07:00
drivers - Convert PCI core error codes to proper error numbers since latter get 2024-06-09 08:49:13 -07:00
fs ocfs2: fix NULL pointer dereference in ocfs2_abort_trigger() 2024-06-15 10:43:04 -07:00
include mm: huge_memory: fix misused mapping_large_folio_support() for anon folios 2024-06-15 10:43:06 -07:00
init gcc: disable '-Warray-bounds' for gcc-9 2024-06-15 10:43:04 -07:00
io_uring io_uring: fix possible deadlock in io_register_iowq_max_workers() 2024-06-04 07:39:17 -06:00
ipc Mainly singleton patches, documented in their respective changelogs. 2024-05-19 14:02:03 -07:00
kernel gcov: add support for GCC 14 2024-06-15 10:43:06 -07:00
lib lib/alloc_tag: do not register sysctl interface when CONFIG_SYSCTL=n 2024-06-15 10:43:05 -07:00
LICENSES LICENSES: Add the copyleft-next-0.3.1 license 2022-11-08 15:44:01 +01:00
mm mm: huge_memory: fix misused mapping_large_folio_support() for anon folios 2024-06-15 10:43:06 -07:00
net nfsd-6.10 fixes: 2024-06-07 15:07:57 -07:00
rust LoongArch changes for v6.10 2024-05-22 09:43:07 -07:00
samples tracing/treewide: Remove second parameter of __assign_str() 2024-05-22 20:14:47 -04:00
scripts Kbuild fixes for v6.10 (second) 2024-06-08 10:12:33 -07:00
security Revert "mm: init_mlocked_on_free_v3" 2024-06-15 10:43:05 -07:00
sound ALSA: seq: ump: Fix swapped song position pointer data 2024-05-31 09:51:44 +02:00
tools perf tools fixes for v6.10: 2nd batch 2024-06-09 09:04:51 -07:00
usr kbuild: use $(src) instead of $(srctree)/$(src) for source directory 2024-05-10 04:34:52 +09:00
virt The usual shower of singleton fixes and minor series all over MM, 2024-05-19 09:21:03 -07:00
.clang-format clang-format: Update with v6.7-rc4's for_each macro list 2023-12-08 23:54:38 +01:00
.cocciconfig
.editorconfig Add .editorconfig file for basic formatting 2023-12-28 16:22:47 +09:00
.get_maintainer.ignore Add Jeff Kirsher to .get_maintainer.ignore 2024-03-08 11:36:54 +00:00
.gitattributes .gitattributes: set diff driver for Rust source code files 2023-05-31 17:48:25 +02:00
.gitignore kbuild: create a list of all built DTB files 2024-02-19 18:20:39 +09:00
.mailmap mailmap: update entry for Kees Cook 2024-05-31 08:58:36 -07:00
.rustfmt.toml rust: add .rustfmt.toml 2022-09-28 09:02:20 +02:00
COPYING COPYING: state that all contributions really are covered by this file 2020-02-10 13:32:20 -08:00
CREDITS MAINTAINERS: Drop Gustavo Pimentel as PCI DWC Maintainer 2024-03-27 13:41:02 -05:00
Kbuild Kbuild updates for v6.1 2022-10-10 12:00:45 -07:00
Kconfig kbuild: ensure full rebuild when the compiler is updated 2020-05-12 13:28:33 +09:00
MAINTAINERS MAINTAINERS: remove Lorenzo as vmalloc reviewer 2024-06-15 10:43:05 -07:00
Makefile Linux 6.10-rc3 2024-06-09 14:19:43 -07:00
README README: Fix spelling 2024-03-18 03:36:32 -06:00

Linux kernel
============

There are several guides for kernel developers and users. These guides can
be rendered in a number of formats, like HTML and PDF. Please read
Documentation/admin-guide/README.rst first.

In order to build the documentation, use ``make htmldocs`` or
``make pdfdocs``.  The formatted documentation can also be read online at:

    https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/

There are various text files in the Documentation/ subdirectory,
several of them using the reStructuredText markup notation.

Please read the Documentation/process/changes.rst file, as it contains the
requirements for building and running the kernel, and information about
the problems which may result by upgrading your kernel.