linux-kernel - Re: [GIT PULL] vsprintf: Replace memory barrier with static_key for random_ptr

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Date:   Thu, 17 May 2018 07:40:53 +1000
From:   "Tobin C. Harding" <me@...in.cc>
To:     Steven Rostedt <rostedt@...dmis.org>
Cc:     Linus Torvalds <torvalds@...ux-foundation.org>,
        LKML <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
        Peter Zijlstra <peterz@...radead.org>,
        Kees Cook <keescook@...omium.org>,
        Andrew Morton <akpm@...ux-foundation.org>
Subject: Re: [GIT PULL] vsprintf: Replace memory barrier with static_key for
 random_ptr_key update

On Wed, May 16, 2018 at 09:12:41AM -0400, Steven Rostedt wrote:
> 
> Linus,
> 
> The memory barrier usage in updating the random ptr hash for %p in
> vsprintf is incorrect. Instead of adding the read memory barrier
> into vsprintf() which will cause a slight degradation to a commonly
> used function in the kernel just to solve a very unlikely race
> condition that can only happen at boot up, change the code from
> using a variable branch to a static_branch. Not only does this solve
> the race condition, it actually will improve the performance of
> vsprintf() by removing the conditional branch that is only needed
> at boot.
> 
> 
> Please pull the latest trace-v4.17-rc5-vsprintf tree, which can be found at:
> 
> 
>   git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/rostedt/linux-trace.git
> trace-v4.17-rc5-vsprintf
> 
> Tag SHA1: 3e2a2dfc8987e9a2b4e185b65a9b48c374c80791
> Head SHA1: 85f4f12d51397f1648e1f4350f77e24039b82d61
> 
> 
> Steven Rostedt (VMware) (1):
>       vsprintf: Replace memory barrier with static_key for random_ptr_key update
> 
> ----
>  lib/vsprintf.c | 26 +++++++++++++++-----------
>  1 file changed, 15 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)
> ---------------------------
> commit 85f4f12d51397f1648e1f4350f77e24039b82d61
> Author: Steven Rostedt (VMware) <rostedt@...dmis.org>
> Date:   Tue May 15 22:24:52 2018 -0400
> 
>     vsprintf: Replace memory barrier with static_key for random_ptr_key update
>     
>     Reviewing Tobin's patches for getting pointers out early before
>     entropy has been established, I noticed that there's a lone smp_mb() in
>     the code. As with most lone memory barriers, this one appears to be
>     incorrectly used.
>     
>     We currently basically have this:
>     
>             get_random_bytes(&ptr_key, sizeof(ptr_key));
>             /*
>              * have_filled_random_ptr_key==true is dependent on get_random_bytes().
>              * ptr_to_id() needs to see have_filled_random_ptr_key==true
>              * after get_random_bytes() returns.
>              */
>             smp_mb();
>             WRITE_ONCE(have_filled_random_ptr_key, true);
>     
>     And later we have:
>     
>             if (unlikely(!have_filled_random_ptr_key))
>                     return string(buf, end, "(ptrval)", spec);
>     
>     /* Missing memory barrier here. */
>     
>             hashval = (unsigned long)siphash_1u64((u64)ptr, &ptr_key);
>     
>     As the CPU can perform speculative loads, we could have a situation
>     with the following:
>     
>             CPU0                            CPU1
>             ----                            ----
>                                        load ptr_key = 0
>        store ptr_key = random
>        smp_mb()
>        store have_filled_random_ptr_key
>     
>                                        load have_filled_random_ptr_key = true
>     
>                                         BAD BAD BAD! (you're so bad!)

The additional clarification in this line, added for the pull request, is pure gold.


	Tobin