linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH 24/32] vfs: syscall: Add fsopen() to prepare for superblock creation [ver #9]

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Date:   Tue, 10 Jul 2018 18:05:49 -0700
From:   Linus Torvalds <torvalds@...ux-foundation.org>
To:     Andy Lutomirski <luto@...capital.net>
Cc:     David Howells <dhowells@...hat.com>,
        Al Viro <viro@...iv.linux.org.uk>,
        Linux API <linux-api@...r.kernel.org>,
        linux-fsdevel <linux-fsdevel@...r.kernel.org>,
        Linux Kernel Mailing List <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
        Jann Horn <jannh@...gle.com>
Subject: Re: [PATCH 24/32] vfs: syscall: Add fsopen() to prepare for
 superblock creation [ver #9]

Yeah, Andy is right that we should *not* make "write()" have side effects.

Use it to queue things by all means, but not "do" things. Not unless
there's a very sane security model.

On Tue, Jul 10, 2018 at 4:59 PM Andy Lutomirski <luto@...capital.net> wrote:
>
> I think the right solution is one of:
>
> (a) Pass a netlink-formatted blob to fsopen() and do the whole thing in one syscall. I don’t mean using netlink sockets — just the nlattr format.  Or you could use a different format. The part that matters is using just one syscall to do the whole thing.

Please no. Not another nasty marshalling thing.

> (b) Keep the current structure but use a new syscall instead of write().
>
> (c) Keep using write() but literally just buffer the data. Then have a new syscall to commit it.  In other words, replace “x” with a syscall and call all the fs_context_operations helpers in that context instead of from write().

But yeah, b-or-c sounds fine.

               Linus