From: John Hubbard <jhubbard@xxxxxxxxxx>
-- Expand the documentation to discuss the hazards in
enough detail to allow avoiding them.
-- Mention the upcoming MAP_FIXED_SAFE flag.
-- Enhance the alignment requirement slightly.
CC: Michael Ellerman <mpe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
CC: Jann Horn <jannh@xxxxxxxxxx>
CC: Matthew Wilcox <willy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
CC: Michal Hocko <mhocko@xxxxxxxxxx>
CC: Mike Rapoport <rppt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
CC: Cyril Hrubis <chrubis@xxxxxxx>
CC: Michal Hocko <mhocko@xxxxxxxx>
CC: Pavel Machek <pavel@xxxxxx>
Signed-off-by: John Hubbard <jhubbard@xxxxxxxxxx>
---
Changes since v4:
-- v2 ("mmap.2: MAP_FIXED is no longer discouraged") was applied already,
so v5 is a merge, including rewording of the paragraph transitions.
-- We seem to have consensus about what to say about alignment
now, and this includes that new wording.
Changes since v3:
-- Removed the "how to use this safely" part, and
the SHMLBA part, both as a result of Michal Hocko's
review.
-- A few tiny wording fixes, at the not-quite-typo level.
Changes since v2:
-- Fixed up the "how to use safely" example, in response
to Mike Rapoport's review.
-- Changed the alignment requirement from system page
size, to SHMLBA. This was inspired by (but not yet
recommended by) Cyril Hrubis' review.
-- Formatting: underlined /proc/<pid>/maps
Changes since v1:
-- Covered topics recommended by Matthew Wilcox
and Jann Horn, in their recent review: the hazards
of overwriting pre-exising mappings, and some notes
about how to use MAP_FIXED safely.
-- Rewrote the commit description accordingly.
man2/mmap.2 | 32 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--
1 file changed, 30 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
diff --git a/man2/mmap.2 b/man2/mmap.2
index a5a8eb47a..400cfda2d 100644
--- a/man2/mmap.2
+++ b/man2/mmap.2
@@ -212,8 +212,9 @@ Don't interpret
.I addr
as a hint: place the mapping at exactly that address.
.I addr
-must be a multiple of the page size.
-If the memory region specified by
+must be suitably aligned: for most architectures a multiple of page
+size is sufficient; however, some architectures may impose additional
+restrictions. If the memory region specified by
.I addr
and
.I len
@@ -226,6 +227,33 @@ Software that aspires to be portable should use this option with care, keeping
in mind that the exact layout of a process' memory map is allowed to change
significantly between kernel versions, C library versions, and operating system
releases.
+.IP
+Furthermore, this option is extremely hazardous (when used on its own), because
+it forcibly removes pre-existing mappings, making it easy for a multi-threaded
+process to corrupt its own address space.
+.IP
+For example, thread A looks through
+.I /proc/<pid>/maps
+and locates an available
+address range, while thread B simultaneously acquires part or all of that same
+address range. Thread A then calls mmap(MAP_FIXED), effectively overwriting
+the mapping that thread B created.
+.IP
+Thread B need not create a mapping directly; simply making a library call
+that, internally, uses
+.I dlopen(3)
+to load some other shared library, will
+suffice. The dlopen(3) call will map the library into the process's address
+space. Furthermore, almost any library call may be implemented using this
+technique.
+Examples include brk(2), malloc(3), pthread_create(3), and the PAM libraries
+(http://www.linux-pam.org).
+.IP
+Newer kernels
+(Linux 4.16 and later) have a
+.B MAP_FIXED_SAFE
+option that avoids the corruption problem; if available, MAP_FIXED_SAFE
+should be preferred over MAP_FIXED.
.TP
.B MAP_GROWSDOWN
This flag is used for stacks.
--
2.15.1
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