From 455cd5ab305c90ffc422dd2e0fb634730942b257 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Dan Rosenberg Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 16:59:41 -0800 Subject: kptr_restrict for hiding kernel pointers from unprivileged users Add the %pK printk format specifier and the /proc/sys/kernel/kptr_restrict sysctl. The %pK format specifier is designed to hide exposed kernel pointers, specifically via /proc interfaces. Exposing these pointers provides an easy target for kernel write vulnerabilities, since they reveal the locations of writable structures containing easily triggerable function pointers. The behavior of %pK depends on the kptr_restrict sysctl. If kptr_restrict is set to 0, no deviation from the standard %p behavior occurs. If kptr_restrict is set to 1, the default, if the current user (intended to be a reader via seq_printf(), etc.) does not have CAP_SYSLOG (currently in the LSM tree), kernel pointers using %pK are printed as 0's. If kptr_restrict is set to 2, kernel pointers using %pK are printed as 0's regardless of privileges. Replacing with 0's was chosen over the default "(null)", which cannot be parsed by userland %p, which expects "(nil)". [akpm@linux-foundation.org: check for IRQ context when !kptr_restrict, save an indent level, s/WARN/WARN_ONCE/] [akpm@linux-foundation.org: coding-style fixup] [randy.dunlap@oracle.com: fix kernel/sysctl.c warning] Signed-off-by: Dan Rosenberg Signed-off-by: Randy Dunlap Cc: James Morris Cc: Eric Dumazet Cc: Thomas Graf Cc: Eugene Teo Cc: Kees Cook Cc: Ingo Molnar Cc: David S. Miller Cc: Peter Zijlstra Cc: Eric Paris Signed-off-by: Andrew Morton Signed-off-by: Linus Torvalds --- Documentation/sysctl/kernel.txt | 14 ++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 14 insertions(+) (limited to 'Documentation/sysctl/kernel.txt') diff --git a/Documentation/sysctl/kernel.txt b/Documentation/sysctl/kernel.txt index 574067194f38..11d5ceda5bb0 100644 --- a/Documentation/sysctl/kernel.txt +++ b/Documentation/sysctl/kernel.txt @@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ show up in /proc/sys/kernel: - hotplug - java-appletviewer [ binfmt_java, obsolete ] - java-interpreter [ binfmt_java, obsolete ] +- kptr_restrict - kstack_depth_to_print [ X86 only ] - l2cr [ PPC only ] - modprobe ==> Documentation/debugging-modules.txt @@ -261,6 +262,19 @@ This flag controls the L2 cache of G3 processor boards. If ============================================================== +kptr_restrict: + +This toggle indicates whether restrictions are placed on +exposing kernel addresses via /proc and other interfaces. When +kptr_restrict is set to (0), there are no restrictions. When +kptr_restrict is set to (1), the default, kernel pointers +printed using the %pK format specifier will be replaced with 0's +unless the user has CAP_SYSLOG. When kptr_restrict is set to +(2), kernel pointers printed using %pK will be replaced with 0's +regardless of privileges. + +============================================================== + kstack_depth_to_print: (X86 only) Controls the number of words to print when dumping the raw -- cgit v1.2.1