Re: [PATCH v3 1/3] x86: Implement arch_prctl(ARCH_VSYSCALL_CONTROL) to disable vsyscall

[Boris Lukashev <blukashev@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Publish an LPE abusing the problem - Linus can move fast if there is bad PR to be had from not doing so. Unfortunately security in upstream tends to be a reactive function. 

-Boris

On January 13, 2022 12:27:15 PM EST, Florian Weimer <fweimer@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

* Florian Weimer:

 Distributions struggle with changing the default for vsyscall
 emulation because it is a clear break of userspace ABI, something
 that should not happen.

 The legacy vsyscall interface is supposed to be used by libcs only,
 not by applications.  This commit adds a new arch_prctl request,
 ARCH_VSYSCALL_CONTROL, with one argument.  If the argument is 0,
 executing vsyscalls will cause the process to terminate.  Argument 1
 turns vsyscall back on (this is mostly for a largely theoretical
 CRIU use case).

 Newer libcs can use a zero ARCH_VSYSCALL_CONTROL at startup to disable
 vsyscall for the process.  Legacy libcs do not perform this call, so
 vsyscall remains enabled for them.  This approach should achieves
 backwards compatibility (perfect compatibility if the assumption that
 only libcs use vsyscall is accurate), and it provides full hardening
 for new binaries.

 The chosen value of ARCH_VSYSCALL_CONTROL should avoid conflicts
 with other x86-64 arch_prctl requests.  The fact that with
 vsyscall=emulate, reading the vsyscall region is still possible
 even after a zero ARCH_VSYSCALL_CONTROL is considered limitation
 in the current implementation and may change in a future kernel
 version.

 Future arch_prctls requests commonly used at process startup can imply
 ARCH_VSYSCALL_CONTROL with a zero argument, so that a separate system
 call for disabling vsyscall is avoided.

 Signed-off-by: Florian Weimer <fweimer@xxxxxxxxxx>
 Acked-by: Andrei Vagin <avagin@xxxxxxxxx>
 v3: Remove warning log message.  Split out test.
 v2: ARCH_VSYSCALL_CONTROL instead of ARCH_VSYSCALL_LOCKOUT.  New tests
     for the toggle behavior.  Implement hiding [vsyscall] in
     /proc/PID/maps and test it.  Various other test fixes cleanups
     (e.g., fixed missing second argument to gettimeofday).

 arch/x86/entry/vsyscall/vsyscall_64.c | 7 ++++++-
  arch/x86/include/asm/mmu.h            | 6 ++++++
  arch/x86/include/uapi/asm/prctl.h     | 2 ++
  arch/x86/kernel/process_64.c          | 7 +++++++
  4 files changed, 21 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

Hello,

sorry to bother you again.  What can I do to move this forward?

Thanks,
Florian