linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH] entry/kvm: Exit to user mode when TIF_NOTIFY

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]

Message-ID: <878rrhcgf1.fsf@email.froward.int.ebiederm.org>
Date:   Wed, 04 May 2022 13:16:02 -0500
From:   "Eric W. Biederman" <ebiederm@...ssion.com>
To:     Seth Forshee <sforshee@...italocean.com>
Cc:     Thomas Gleixner <tglx@...utronix.de>,
        Peter Zijlstra <peterz@...radead.org>,
        Andy Lutomirski <luto@...nel.org>,
        Josh Poimboeuf <jpoimboe@...hat.com>,
        Jiri Kosina <jikos@...nel.org>,
        Miroslav Benes <mbenes@...e.cz>,
        Petr Mladek <pmladek@...e.com>,
        Paolo Bonzini <pbonzini@...hat.com>,
        Sean Christopherson <seanjc@...gle.com>,
        Jens Axboe <axboe@...nel.dk>, linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org,
        live-patching@...r.kernel.org, kvm@...r.kernel.org
Subject: Re: [PATCH] entry/kvm: Exit to user mode when TIF_NOTIFY_SIGNAL is set

Seth Forshee <sforshee@...italocean.com> writes:

> A livepatch transition may stall indefinitely when a kvm vCPU is heavily
> loaded. To the host, the vCPU task is a user thread which is spending a
> very long time in the ioctl(KVM_RUN) syscall. During livepatch
> transition, set_notify_signal() will be called on such tasks to
> interrupt the syscall so that the task can be transitioned. This
> interrupts guest execution, but when xfer_to_guest_mode_work() sees that
> TIF_NOTIFY_SIGNAL is set but not TIF_SIGPENDING it concludes that an
> exit to user mode is unnecessary, and guest execution is resumed without
> transitioning the task for the livepatch.
>
> This handling of TIF_NOTIFY_SIGNAL is incorrect, as set_notify_signal()
> is expected to break tasks out of interruptible kernel loops and cause
> them to return to userspace. Change xfer_to_guest_mode_work() to handle
> TIF_NOTIFY_SIGNAL the same as TIF_SIGPENDING, signaling to the vCPU run
> loop that an exit to userpsace is needed. Any pending task_work will be
> run when get_signal() is called from exit_to_user_mode_loop(), so there
> is no longer any need to run task work from xfer_to_guest_mode_work().
>
> Suggested-by: "Eric W. Biederman" <ebiederm@...ssion.com>
> Cc: Petr Mladek <pmladek@...e.com>
> Signed-off-by: Seth Forshee <sforshee@...italocean.com>

Acked-by: "Eric W. Biederman" <ebiederm@...ssion.com>

> ---
>  kernel/entry/kvm.c | 6 ------
>  1 file changed, 6 deletions(-)
>
> diff --git a/kernel/entry/kvm.c b/kernel/entry/kvm.c
> index 9d09f489b60e..2e0f75bcb7fd 100644
> --- a/kernel/entry/kvm.c
> +++ b/kernel/entry/kvm.c
> @@ -9,12 +9,6 @@ static int xfer_to_guest_mode_work(struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu, unsigned long ti_work)
>  		int ret;
>  
>  		if (ti_work & (_TIF_SIGPENDING | _TIF_NOTIFY_SIGNAL)) {
> -			clear_notify_signal();
> -			if (task_work_pending(current))
> -				task_work_run();
> -		}
> -
> -		if (ti_work & _TIF_SIGPENDING) {
>  			kvm_handle_signal_exit(vcpu);
>  			return -EINTR;
>  		}