Message-ID: <20260107-task-group-leader-v2-1-8fbf816f2a2f@google.com>
Date: Wed, 07 Jan 2026 08:28:46 +0000
From: Alice Ryhl <aliceryhl@...gle.com>
To: Andrew Morton <akpm@...ux-foundation.org>, Boqun Feng <boqun.feng@...il.com>, 
	Christian Brauner <brauner@...nel.org>
Cc: Miguel Ojeda <ojeda@...nel.org>, Gary Guo <gary@...yguo.net>, 
	"Björn Roy Baron" <bjorn3_gh@...tonmail.com>, Benno Lossin <lossin@...nel.org>, 
	Andreas Hindborg <a.hindborg@...nel.org>, Trevor Gross <tmgross@...ch.edu>, 
	Danilo Krummrich <dakr@...nel.org>, rust-for-linux@...r.kernel.org, 
	linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org, Oleg Nesterov <oleg@...hat.com>, 
	Alice Ryhl <aliceryhl@...gle.com>
Subject: [PATCH v2] rust: task: restrict Task::group_leader() to current

The Task::group_leader() method currently allows you to access the
group_leader() of any task, for example one you hold a refcount to. But
this is not safe in general since the group leader could change when a
task exits. See for example commit a15f37a40145c ("kernel/sys.c: fix the
racy usage of task_lock(tsk->group_leader) in sys_prlimit64() paths").

All existing users of Task::group_leader() call this method on current,
which is guaranteed running, so there's not an actual issue in Rust code
today. But to prevent code in the future from making this mistake,
restrict Task::group_leader() so that it can only be called on current.

There are some other cases where accessing task->group_leader is okay.
For example it can be safe if you hold tasklist_lock or rcu_read_lock().
However, only supporting current->group_leader is sufficient for all
in-tree Rust users of group_leader right now. Safe Rust functionality
for accessing it under rcu or while holding tasklist_lock may be added
in the future if required by any future Rust module.

This patch is a bugfix in that it prevents users of this API from
writing incorrect code. It doesn't change behavior of correct code.

Reported-by: Oleg Nesterov <oleg@...hat.com>
Closes: https://lore.kernel.org/all/aTLnV-5jlgfk1aRK@redhat.com/
Fixes: 313c4281bc9d ("rust: add basic `Task`")
Reviewed-by: Boqun Feng <boqun.feng@...il.com>
Signed-off-by: Alice Ryhl <aliceryhl@...gle.com>
---
The rust/kernel/task.rs file has had changes land through a few
different trees:

* Originally task.rs landed through Christian's tree together with
  file.rs and pid_namespace.rs
* The change to add CurrentTask landed through Andrew Morton's tree
  together with mm.rs
* There was a patch to mark some methods #[inline] that landed through
  tip via Boqun.

I don't think there's a clear owner for this file, so to break ambiguity
I'm doing to declare that this patch is intended for Andrew Morton's
tree. Please let me know if you think a different tree is appropriate.
---
Changes in v2:
- Update commit message re: bugfix
- Pick up Reviewed-by.
- Reword current.group_leader to current->group_leader in comment.
- Link to v1: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20251218-task-group-leader-v1-1-4fb7ecd4c830@google.com
---
 rust/kernel/task.rs | 24 ++++++++++++------------
 1 file changed, 12 insertions(+), 12 deletions(-)

diff --git a/rust/kernel/task.rs b/rust/kernel/task.rs
index 49fad6de06740a9b9ad80b2f4b430cc28cd134fa..cc907fb531bceea6e8dc1175d9350bd24780a3d5 100644
--- a/rust/kernel/task.rs
+++ b/rust/kernel/task.rs
@@ -204,18 +204,6 @@ pub fn as_ptr(&self) -> *mut bindings::task_struct {
         self.0.get()
     }
 
-    /// Returns the group leader of the given task.
-    pub fn group_leader(&self) -> &Task {
-        // SAFETY: The group leader of a task never changes after initialization, so reading this
-        // field is not a data race.
-        let ptr = unsafe { *ptr::addr_of!((*self.as_ptr()).group_leader) };
-
-        // SAFETY: The lifetime of the returned task reference is tied to the lifetime of `self`,
-        // and given that a task has a reference to its group leader, we know it must be valid for
-        // the lifetime of the returned task reference.
-        unsafe { &*ptr.cast() }
-    }
-
     /// Returns the PID of the given task.
     pub fn pid(&self) -> Pid {
         // SAFETY: The pid of a task never changes after initialization, so reading this field is
@@ -345,6 +333,18 @@ pub fn active_pid_ns(&self) -> Option<&PidNamespace> {
         // `release_task()` call.
         Some(unsafe { PidNamespace::from_ptr(active_ns) })
     }
+
+    /// Returns the group leader of the current task.
+    pub fn group_leader(&self) -> &Task {
+        // SAFETY: The group leader of a task never changes while the task is running, and `self`
+        // is the current task, which is guaranteed running.
+        let ptr = unsafe { (*self.as_ptr()).group_leader };
+
+        // SAFETY: `current->group_leader` stays valid for at least the duration in which `current`
+        // is running, and the signature of this function ensures that the returned `&Task` can
+        // only be used while `current` is still valid, thus still running.
+        unsafe { &*ptr.cast() }
+    }
 }
 
 // SAFETY: The type invariants guarantee that `Task` is always refcounted.

---
base-commit: 9ace4753a5202b02191d54e9fdf7f9e3d02b85eb
change-id: 20251218-task-group-leader-a71931ced643

Best regards,
-- 
Alice Ryhl <aliceryhl@...gle.com>

Powered by blists - more mailing lists