kptr_restrict for hiding kernel pointers from unprivileged users
authorDan Rosenberg <drosenberg@vsecurity.com>
Thu, 13 Jan 2011 00:59:41 +0000 (16:59 -0800)
committerLinus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>
Thu, 13 Jan 2011 16:03:08 +0000 (08:03 -0800)
commit455cd5ab305c90ffc422dd2e0fb634730942b257
treec20e6c3f8e58967991ce9002abe03d31897b171c
parent351f8f8e6499ae4fff40f5e3a8fe16d9e1903646
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>
Documentation/sysctl/kernel.txt
include/linux/printk.h
kernel/sysctl.c
lib/vsprintf.c