seq_buf: Add seq_buf_terminate()

Seven callers call seq_buf_str() only to NUL-terminate the buffer,
discarding the returned pointer. Two of them need a comment to say so.

Add seq_buf_terminate(), wrapping the __seq_buf_terminate() helper that
seq_buf_str() and seq_buf_strlen() already use, and convert those
callers. It returns void: returning the offset would just be
seq_buf_strlen() under another name. A zero-sized seq_buf is left
untouched, as in the other accessors.

Add tests for the three cases: room for the NUL after the data, an
overflowed buffer where it lands in the last byte, and a zero-sized
buffer that must not be written to.

Build tested ARCH=x86_64 defconfig with GCC 16.2.0, plus
CONFIG_HIST_TRIGGERS=y and CONFIG_BPF_SYSCALL=y to reach the converted
call sites in kernel/trace/trace_events_hist.c and
kernel/bpf/diagnostics.c. Tests run 24/24 passing on ARCH=um.

Assisted-by: LLM
Acked-by: Alexei Starovoitov <ast@kernel.org>
Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20261005155708.1471260-7-kees@kernel.org
Signed-off-by: Kees Cook <kees@kernel.org>

include/linux/seq_buf.h

@@ -173,6 +173,29 @@ static inline size_t seq_buf_strlen(struct seq_buf *s)
 	return __seq_buf_terminate(s);
 }
 
+/**
+ * seq_buf_terminate - NUL-terminate the string in a seq_buf
+ * @s: the seq_buf handle
+ *
+ * Terminate @s->buffer exactly as seq_buf_str() and seq_buf_strlen() do,
+ * for callers that want neither the pointer nor the length and only need
+ * the buffer to be safe to read as a C string. A zero-sized seq_buf has
+ * nowhere to put a NUL and is left untouched.
+ *
+ * Nothing is returned on purpose: a caller that wants the length should
+ * use seq_buf_strlen(), which says so.
+ *
+ * After this function is called, s->buffer is safe to use
+ * in string operations.
+ */
+static inline void seq_buf_terminate(struct seq_buf *s)
+{
+	if (s->size == 0)
+		return;
+
+	__seq_buf_terminate(s);
+}
+
 /**
  * seq_buf_get_buf - get buffer to write arbitrary data to
  * @s: the seq_buf handle

kernel/bpf/diagnostics.c

@@ -351,7 +351,7 @@ static void diag_fmt_restore(struct bpf_verifier_env *env, struct diag_fmt_mark
 
 	if (mark.chunk) {
 		mark.chunk->seq.len = mark.len;
-		seq_buf_str(&mark.chunk->seq);
+		seq_buf_terminate(&mark.chunk->seq);
 	}
 }
 
@@ -631,11 +631,11 @@ static void format_disasm_line(struct bpf_verifier_env *env, int insn_idx,
 		return;
 
 	print_bpf_insn(&cbs, insn, env->allow_ptr_leaks);
-	seq_buf_str(&ctx.seq);
+	seq_buf_terminate(&ctx.seq);
 	ctx.seq.len = strnlen(line->text, sizeof(line->text));
 	while (ctx.seq.len && line->text[ctx.seq.len - 1] == '\n')
 		seq_buf_pop(&ctx.seq);
-	seq_buf_str(&ctx.seq);
+	seq_buf_terminate(&ctx.seq);
 
 	line->valid = true;
 }

kernel/trace/trace_events.c

@@ -4906,7 +4906,7 @@ static __init int event_trace_enable(void)
 	 */
 	__trace_early_add_events(tr);
 
-	seq_buf_str(&bootup_event_seq);
+	seq_buf_terminate(&bootup_event_seq);
 	early_enable_events(tr, bootup_event_buf, false);
 
 	trace_printk_start_comm();
@@ -4935,7 +4935,7 @@ static __init int event_trace_enable_again(void)
 	if (!tr)
 		return -ENODEV;
 
-	seq_buf_str(&bootup_event_seq);
+	seq_buf_terminate(&bootup_event_seq);
 	early_enable_events(tr, bootup_event_buf, true);
 
 	return 0;

kernel/trace/trace_events_hist.c

@@ -2988,8 +2988,7 @@ find_synthetic_field_var(struct hist_trigger_data *target_hist_data,
 	seq_buf_init(&s, synthetic_name, MAX_FILTER_STR_VAL);
 	seq_buf_printf(&s, "synthetic_%s", field_name);
 
-	/* Terminate synthetic_name with a NUL. */
-	seq_buf_str(&s);
+	seq_buf_terminate(&s);
 
 	if (seq_buf_has_overflowed(&s)) {
 		kfree(synthetic_name);
@@ -3106,8 +3105,7 @@ create_field_var_hist(struct hist_trigger_data *target_hist_data,
 	if (saved_filter)
 		seq_buf_printf(&s, " if %s", saved_filter);
 
-	/* Terminate cmd with a NUL. */
-	seq_buf_str(&s);
+	seq_buf_terminate(&s);
 
 	if (seq_buf_has_overflowed(&s)) {
 		kfree(cmd);

lib/tests/seq_buf_kunit.c

@@ -632,6 +632,41 @@ static void seq_buf_strlen_zero_size_test(struct kunit *test)
 	KUNIT_EXPECT_STREQ(test, buf, "untouched");
 }
 
+static void seq_buf_terminate_test(struct kunit *test)
+{
+	char buf[16];
+	struct seq_buf s;
+
+	/*
+	 * seq_buf_putmem() writes no NUL, so only seq_buf_terminate() can
+	 * end these strings early. The NUL in the last byte of buf keeps
+	 * the comparisons in bounds if it does not.
+	 */
+
+	/* Terminates directly after the data when there is room. */
+	memset(buf, 'z', sizeof(buf) - 1);
+	buf[sizeof(buf) - 1] = '\0';
+	seq_buf_init(&s, buf, sizeof(buf));
+	seq_buf_putmem(&s, "ab", 2);
+	seq_buf_terminate(&s);
+	KUNIT_EXPECT_STREQ(test, buf, "ab");
+
+	/* Terminates in the last byte once the buffer has overflowed. */
+	memset(buf, 'z', sizeof(buf) - 1);
+	buf[sizeof(buf) - 1] = '\0';
+	seq_buf_init(&s, buf, 4);
+	seq_buf_putmem(&s, "abcdef", 6);
+	KUNIT_EXPECT_TRUE(test, seq_buf_has_overflowed(&s));
+	seq_buf_terminate(&s);
+	KUNIT_EXPECT_STREQ(test, buf, "abc");
+
+	/* A zero-sized seq_buf is left alone. */
+	strscpy(buf, "untouched", sizeof(buf));
+	seq_buf_init(&s, buf, 0);
+	seq_buf_terminate(&s);
+	KUNIT_EXPECT_STREQ(test, buf, "untouched");
+}
+
 static struct kunit_case seq_buf_test_cases[] = {
 	KUNIT_CASE(seq_buf_init_test),
 	KUNIT_CASE(seq_buf_declare_test),
@@ -655,6 +690,7 @@ static struct kunit_case seq_buf_test_cases[] = {
 	KUNIT_CASE(seq_buf_strlen_puts_overflow_test),
 	KUNIT_CASE(seq_buf_strlen_embedded_nul_test),
 	KUNIT_CASE(seq_buf_strlen_zero_size_test),
+	KUNIT_CASE(seq_buf_terminate_test),
 	KUNIT_CASE(seq_buf_do_printk_test),
 	{}
 };