linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH v2] MIPS: Add nonxstack=on|off kernel parameter

lists.openwall.net		lists / announce owl-users owl-dev john-users john-dev passwdqc-users yescrypt popa3d-users / oss-security kernel-hardening musl sabotage tlsify passwords / crypt-dev xvendor / Bugtraq Full-Disclosure linux-kernel linux-netdev linux-ext4 linux-hardening linux-cve-announce PHC
Open Source and information security mailing list archives

Hash Suite: Windows password security audit tool. GUI, reports in PDF.

[<prev] [next>] [<thread-prev] [thread-next>] [day] [month] [year] [list]

Date:   Thu, 8 Feb 2018 11:55:59 +0000
From:   James Hogan <jhogan@...nel.org>
To:     Miodrag Dinic <Miodrag.Dinic@...s.com>
Cc:     Paul Burton <Paul.Burton@...s.com>,
        Maciej Rozycki <Maciej.Rozycki@...s.com>,
        Aleksandar Markovic <aleksandar.markovic@...rk.com>,
        Aleksandar Markovic <Aleksandar.Markovic@...s.com>,
        David Daney <ddaney@...iumnetworks.com>,
        "linux-mips@...ux-mips.org" <linux-mips@...ux-mips.org>,
        Andrew Morton <akpm@...ux-foundation.org>,
        DengCheng Zhu <DengCheng.Zhu@...s.com>,
        Ding Tianhong <dingtianhong@...wei.com>,
        Douglas Leung <Douglas.Leung@...s.com>,
        Frederic Weisbecker <frederic@...nel.org>,
        Goran Ferenc <Goran.Ferenc@...s.com>,
        Ingo Molnar <mingo@...nel.org>,
        James Cowgill <James.Cowgill@...tec.com>,
        Jonathan Corbet <corbet@....net>,
        "linux-doc@...r.kernel.org" <linux-doc@...r.kernel.org>,
        "linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org" <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
        Marc Zyngier <marc.zyngier@....com>,
        Matt Redfearn <Matt.Redfearn@...s.com>,
        Mimi Zohar <zohar@...ux.vnet.ibm.com>,
        "Paul E. McKenney" <paulmck@...ux.vnet.ibm.com>,
        Petar Jovanovic <Petar.Jovanovic@...s.com>,
        Raghu Gandham <Raghu.Gandham@...s.com>,
        Ralf Baechle <ralf@...ux-mips.org>,
        Thomas Gleixner <tglx@...utronix.de>,
        Tom Saeger <tom.saeger@...cle.com>
Subject: Re: [PATCH v2] MIPS: Add nonxstack=on|off kernel parameter

Hi,

On Thu, Dec 07, 2017 at 11:33:47AM +0000, Miodrag Dinic wrote:
> > On Wed, Dec 06, 2017 at 05:50:52PM +0000, Maciej W. Rozycki wrote:
> > >  What problem are you trying to solve anyway?  Is it not something that 
> > > can be handled with the `execstack' utility?
> > 
> > The commit message states that for Android "non-exec stack is required".
> > Is Android checking that then Aleksandar? If so, how? 
> 
> Android is using SELinux configured to disallow NX mappings by handling
> the following sepolicy rules :
> * Executable stack (execstack)
> * Executable heap (execheap)
> * File-based executable code which has been modified (execmod)
> * All other executable memory (execmem)

...

> The effect of not having some workaround like this in the kernel, would
> be to run Android only in SELinux permissive mode.

So you want to override the lack of RIXI so that SELinux sees an
RX->RW->RX transition as execmod instead of execmem (since without RIXI
its effectively RX->RWX->RX which is execmem)?

Looking at file_map_prot_check(), it does the execmem check on this
condition:

if (default_noexec &&
    (prot & PROT_EXEC) && (!file || IS_PRIVATE(file_inode(file)) ||
			   (!shared && (prot & PROT_WRITE)))) {
	/*
	 * We are making executable an anonymous mapping or a
	 * private file mapping that will also be writable.
	 * This has an additional check.
	 */

default_noexec is set if VM_DATA_DEFAULT_FLAGS doesn't have the exec
flag set, and that flag depends on current->personality &
READ_IMPLIES_EXEC, which depends on elf_read_implies_exec(), i.e.
mips_elf_read_implies_exec(), and that should already return 1 if RIXI
is unavailable.

I.e.

mips_elf_read_implies_exec() == 1

elf_read_implies_exec() == 1

READ_IMPLIES_EXEC will be set in current->personality

VM_DATA_DEFAULT_FLAGS will have VM_EXEC set

default_noexec will be set to 0 in selinux_init()

none of the execmem, execheap, execstack, execmod permission
checks should take place.

So whats the problem exactly? Perhaps I misinterpreted something.

Cheers
James

Download attachment "signature.asc" of type "application/pgp-signature" (834 bytes)