linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH] x86-64: espfix for 64-bit mode *PROTOTYPE*

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Date:	Fri, 25 Apr 2014 14:02:30 +0200
From:	Pavel Machek <pavel@....cz>
To:	"H. Peter Anvin" <hpa@...ux.intel.com>
Cc:	Linux Kernel Mailing List <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
	"H. Peter Anvin" <hpa@...or.com>,
	Linus Torvalds <torvalds@...ux-foundation.org>,
	Ingo Molnar <mingo@...nel.org>,
	Alexander van Heukelum <heukelum@...tmail.fm>,
	Andy Lutomirski <amluto@...il.com>,
	Konrad Rzeszutek Wilk <konrad.wilk@...cle.com>,
	Boris Ostrovsky <boris.ostrovsky@...cle.com>,
	Borislav Petkov <bp@...en8.de>,
	Arjan van de Ven <arjan.van.de.ven@...el.com>,
	Brian Gerst <brgerst@...il.com>,
	Alexandre Julliard <julliard@...ehq.com>,
	Andi Kleen <andi@...stfloor.org>,
	Thomas Gleixner <tglx@...utronix.de>
Subject: Re: [PATCH] x86-64: espfix for 64-bit mode *PROTOTYPE*

Hi!

> This is a prototype of espfix for the 64-bit kernel.  espfix is a
> workaround for the architectural definition of IRET, which fails to
> restore bits [31:16] of %esp when returning to a 16-bit stack
> segment.  We have a workaround for the 32-bit kernel, but that
> implementation doesn't work for 64 bits.

Just to understand the consequences -- we leak 16 bit of kernel data
to the userspace, right? Because it is %esp, we know that we leak
stack address, which is not too sensitive, but will make kernel
address randomization less useful...?

> The 64-bit implementation works like this:
> 
> Set up a ministack for each CPU, which is then mapped 65536 times
> using the page tables.  This implementation uses the second-to-last
> PGD slot for this; with a 64-byte espfix stack this is sufficient for
> 2^18 CPUs (currently we support a max of 2^13 CPUs.)

16-bit stack segments on 64-bit machine. Who still uses it? Dosemu?
Wine? Would the solution be to disallow that?
									Pavel
-- 
(english) http://www.livejournal.com/~pavelmachek
(cesky, pictures) http://atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~pavel/picture/horses/blog.html
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