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authorDan Rosenberg <drosenberg@vsecurity.com>2011-01-12 16:59:41 -0800
committerLinus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>2011-01-13 08:03:08 -0800
commit455cd5ab305c90ffc422dd2e0fb634730942b257 (patch)
treec20e6c3f8e58967991ce9002abe03d31897b171c /Documentation/sysctl
parent351f8f8e6499ae4fff40f5e3a8fe16d9e1903646 (diff)
downloadlinux-455cd5ab305c90ffc422dd2e0fb634730942b257.tar.gz
kptr_restrict for hiding kernel pointers from unprivileged users
Add the %pK printk format specifier and the /proc/sys/kernel/kptr_restrict
sysctl.

The %pK format specifier is designed to hide exposed kernel pointers,
specifically via /proc interfaces.  Exposing these pointers provides an
easy target for kernel write vulnerabilities, since they reveal the
locations of writable structures containing easily triggerable function
pointers.  The behavior of %pK depends on the kptr_restrict sysctl.

If kptr_restrict is set to 0, no deviation from the standard %p behavior
occurs.  If kptr_restrict is set to 1, the default, if the current user
(intended to be a reader via seq_printf(), etc.) does not have CAP_SYSLOG
(currently in the LSM tree), kernel pointers using %pK are printed as 0's.
 If kptr_restrict is set to 2, kernel pointers using %pK are printed as
0's regardless of privileges.  Replacing with 0's was chosen over the
default "(null)", which cannot be parsed by userland %p, which expects
"(nil)".

[akpm@linux-foundation.org: check for IRQ context when !kptr_restrict, save an indent level, s/WARN/WARN_ONCE/]
[akpm@linux-foundation.org: coding-style fixup]
[randy.dunlap@oracle.com: fix kernel/sysctl.c warning]
Signed-off-by: Dan Rosenberg <drosenberg@vsecurity.com>
Signed-off-by: Randy Dunlap <randy.dunlap@oracle.com>
Cc: James Morris <jmorris@namei.org>
Cc: Eric Dumazet <eric.dumazet@gmail.com>
Cc: Thomas Graf <tgraf@infradead.org>
Cc: Eugene Teo <eugeneteo@kernel.org>
Cc: Kees Cook <kees.cook@canonical.com>
Cc: Ingo Molnar <mingo@elte.hu>
Cc: David S. Miller <davem@davemloft.net>
Cc: Peter Zijlstra <a.p.zijlstra@chello.nl>
Cc: Eric Paris <eparis@parisplace.org>

Signed-off-by: Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>
Signed-off-by: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/sysctl')
-rw-r--r--Documentation/sysctl/kernel.txt14
1 files changed, 14 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/sysctl/kernel.txt b/Documentation/sysctl/kernel.txt
index 574067194f38..11d5ceda5bb0 100644
--- a/Documentation/sysctl/kernel.txt
+++ b/Documentation/sysctl/kernel.txt
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ show up in /proc/sys/kernel:
 - hotplug
 - java-appletviewer           [ binfmt_java, obsolete ]
 - java-interpreter            [ binfmt_java, obsolete ]
+- kptr_restrict
 - kstack_depth_to_print       [ X86 only ]
 - l2cr                        [ PPC only ]
 - modprobe                    ==> Documentation/debugging-modules.txt
@@ -261,6 +262,19 @@ This flag controls the L2 cache of G3 processor boards. If
 
 ==============================================================
 
+kptr_restrict:
+
+This toggle indicates whether restrictions are placed on
+exposing kernel addresses via /proc and other interfaces.  When
+kptr_restrict is set to (0), there are no restrictions.  When
+kptr_restrict is set to (1), the default, kernel pointers
+printed using the %pK format specifier will be replaced with 0's
+unless the user has CAP_SYSLOG.  When kptr_restrict is set to
+(2), kernel pointers printed using %pK will be replaced with 0's
+regardless of privileges.
+
+==============================================================
+
 kstack_depth_to_print: (X86 only)
 
 Controls the number of words to print when dumping the raw