linux-kernel - Re: [RFC PATCH v2 2/2] fs/task_mmu: acquire mmap

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:   Tue, 5 Jan 2021 19:26:43 +0000
From:   Nadav Amit <namit@...are.com>
To:     Andrea Arcangeli <aarcange@...hat.com>
CC:     linux-mm <linux-mm@...ck.org>, lkml <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
        Yu Zhao <yuzhao@...gle.com>, Andy Lutomirski <luto@...nel.org>,
        Peter Xu <peterx@...hat.com>,
        Pavel Emelyanov <xemul@...nvz.org>,
        Mike Kravetz <mike.kravetz@...cle.com>,
        Mike Rapoport <rppt@...ux.vnet.ibm.com>,
        Minchan Kim <minchan@...nel.org>,
        Will Deacon <will@...nel.org>,
        Peter Zijlstra <peterz@...radead.org>
Subject: Re: [RFC PATCH v2 2/2] fs/task_mmu: acquire mmap_lock for write on
 soft-dirty cleanup

> On Jan 5, 2021, at 10:20 AM, Andrea Arcangeli <aarcange@...hat.com> wrote:
> 
> On Fri, Dec 25, 2020 at 01:25:29AM -0800, Nadav Amit wrote:
>> Fixes: 0f8975ec4db2 ("mm: soft-dirty bits for user memory changes tracking")
> 
> Targeting a backport down to 2013 when nothing could wrong in practice
> with page_mapcount sounds backwards and unnecessarily risky.
> 
> In theory it was already broken and in theory
> 09854ba94c6aad7886996bfbee2530b3d8a7f4f4 is absolutely perfect and the
> previous code of 2013 is completely wrong, but in practice the code
> from 2013 worked perfectly until Aug 21 2020.

Well… If you consider the bug that Will recently fixed [1], then soft-dirty
was broken (for a different, yet related reason) since 0758cd830494
("asm-generic/tlb: avoid potential double flush”).

This is not to say that I argue that the patch should be backported to 2013,
just to say that memory corruption bugs can be unnoticed.

[1] https://patchwork.kernel.org/project/linux-mm/patch/20201210121110.10094-2-will@kernel.org/

> 
> Since nothing at all could go wrong in soft dirty and uffd-wp until
> 09854ba94c6aad7886996bfbee2530b3d8a7f4f4, the Fixes need to target
> that, definitely not a patch from 2013.
> 
> This means the backports will apply clean, they don't need a simple
> solution but one that doesn't regress the performance of open source
> virtual machines and open source products using clear_refs and uffd-wp
> in general.

To summarize my action items based your (and others) feedback on both
patches:

1. I will break the first patch into two different patches, one with the
“optimization” for write-unprotect, based on your feedback. It will not
be backported.

2. I will try to add a patch to avoid TLB flushes on
userfaultfd-writeunprotect. It will also not be backported.

3. Let me know if you want me to use your version of testing
mm_tlb_flush_pending() and conditionally flushing, wait for new version fro
you or Peter or to go with taking mmap_lock for write.

Thanks again,
Nadav