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Clara Engler 48a4aa9d9c ipv4: Improve martian logs
At the current moment, the logs for martian packets are as follows:
```
martian source {DST} from {SRC}, on dev {DEV}
martian destination {DST} from {SRC}, dev {DEV}
```

These messages feel rather hard to understand in production, especially
the "martian source" one, mostly because it is grammatically ambitious
to parse which part is now the source address and which part is the
destination address.  For example, "{DST}" may there be interpreted as
the actual source address due to following the word "source", thereby
implying the actual source address to be the destination one.

Personally, I discovered this bug while toying around with TUN
interfaces and using them as a tunnel (receiving packets via a TUN
interface and sending them over a TCP stream; receiving packets from a
TCP stream and writing them to a TUN).[^1]

When these IP addresses contained local IPs (i.e. 10.0.0.0/8 in source
and destination), everything worked fine.  However, sending them to a
real routable IP address on the internet led to them being treated as a
martian packet, obviously.  Using a few sysctl(8) and iptables(8)
settings[^2] fixed it, but while debugging I found the log message
starting with "martian source" rather confusing, as I was unsure on
whether the packet that gets dropped was the packet originating from me
or the response from the endpoint, as "martian source <ROUTABLE IP>"
could also be falsely interpreted as the response packet being martian,
due to the word "source" followed by the routable IP address, implying
the source address of that packet is set to this IP, as explained above.
In the end, I had to look into the source code of the kernel on where
this error message gets generated, which is usually an indicator of
there being room for improvement with regard to this error message.

In terms of improvement, this commit changes the error messages for
martian source and martian destination packets as follows:
```
martian source (src={SRC}, dst={DST}, dev={DEV})
martian destination (src={SRC}, dst={DST}, dev={DEV})
```

These new wordings leave pretty much no room for ambiguity as all
parameters are prefixed with a respective key explaining their semantic
meaning.

See also the following thread on LKML.[^3]

[^1]: <https://backreference.org/2010/03/26/tuntap-interface-tutorial>
[^2]: sysctl net.ipv4.ip_forward=1 && \
      iptables -A INPUT -i tun0 -j ACCEPT && \
      iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o eth0 -j MASQUERADE
[^3]: <https://lore.kernel.org/all/aSd4Xj8rHrh-krjy@4944566b5c925f79/>

Signed-off-by: Clara Engler <cve@cve.cx>
Reviewed-by: David Ahern <dsahern@kernel.org>
Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260101125114.2608-1-cve@cve.cx
Signed-off-by: Jakub Kicinski <kuba@kernel.org>
2026-01-05 16:15:50 -08:00
arch RISC-V updates for v6.19-rc3 2025-12-28 09:44:26 -08:00
block block-6.19-20251218 2025-12-20 09:48:56 -08:00
certs sign-file,extract-cert: use pkcs11 provider for OPENSSL MAJOR >= 3 2024-09-20 19:52:48 +03:00
crypto crypto: seqiv - Do not use req->iv after crypto_aead_encrypt 2025-12-19 14:47:06 +08:00
Documentation dt-bindings: net: mscc-miim: add microchip,lan9691-miim 2026-01-04 09:58:51 -08:00
drivers Including fixes from Bluetooth and WiFi. Notably this includes the fix 2025-12-30 08:45:58 -08:00
fs smb3 client fix 2025-12-26 16:19:45 -08:00
include Including fixes from Bluetooth and WiFi. Notably this includes the fix 2025-12-30 08:45:58 -08:00
init Significant patch series in this pull request: 2025-12-06 14:01:20 -08:00
io_uring io_uring-6.19-20251226 2025-12-26 11:34:38 -08:00
ipc Significant patch series in this pull request: 2025-12-06 14:01:20 -08:00
kernel 27 hotfixes. 12 are cc:stable, 18 are MM. 2025-12-29 11:40:38 -08:00
lib idr: fix idr_alloc() returning an ID out of range 2025-12-23 11:23:11 -08:00
LICENSES LICENSES: Add modern form of the LGPL-2.1 tags to the usage guide section 2025-10-22 07:58:19 +02:00
mm mm/ksm: fix pte_unmap_unlock of wrong address in break_ksm_pmd_entry 2025-12-23 11:23:17 -08:00
net ipv4: Improve martian logs 2026-01-05 16:15:50 -08:00
rust 27 hotfixes. 12 are cc:stable, 18 are MM. 2025-12-29 11:40:38 -08:00
samples samples: rust: fix endianness issue in rust_driver_pci 2025-12-17 18:10:58 +01:00
scripts mcb: Add missing modpost build support 2025-12-27 20:48:01 +01:00
security kernel/kexec: change the prototype of kimage_map_segment() 2025-12-23 11:23:13 -08:00
sound ALSA: hda/realtek: fix PCI SSID for one of the HP 200 G2i laptop 2025-12-21 11:19:31 +01:00
tools Including fixes from Bluetooth and WiFi. Notably this includes the fix 2025-12-30 08:45:58 -08:00
usr initramfs: add gen_init_cpio to hostprogs unconditionally 2025-11-26 21:55:40 +01:00
virt KVM fixes for 6.19-rc1 2025-12-18 18:38:45 +01:00
.clang-format s390/pci: Fix cyclic dead-lock in zpci_zdev_put() and zpci_scan_devices() 2025-12-14 11:03:58 +01:00
.clippy.toml rust: clean Rust 1.88.0's warning about clippy::disallowed_macros configuration 2025-05-07 00:11:47 +02:00
.cocciconfig scripts: add Linux .cocciconfig for coccinelle 2016-07-22 12:13:39 +02:00
.editorconfig .editorconfig: remove trim_trailing_whitespace option 2024-06-13 16:47:52 +02:00
.get_maintainer.ignore MAINTAINERS: remove Alyssa Rosenzweig 2025-09-18 21:17:31 +02:00
.gitattributes .gitattributes: set diff driver for Rust source code files 2023-05-31 17:48:25 +02:00
.gitignore rust: kbuild: add proc macro library support 2025-11-24 17:15:36 +01:00
.mailmap .mailmap: remove one of the entries for WangYuli 2025-12-23 11:23:13 -08:00
.pylintrc docs: Move the python libraries to tools/lib/python 2025-11-18 09:22:40 -07:00
.rustfmt.toml rust: add .rustfmt.toml 2022-09-28 09:02:20 +02:00
COPYING COPYING: state that all contributions really are covered by this file 2020-02-10 13:32:20 -08:00
CREDITS Including fixes from netfilter and CAN. 2025-12-19 07:55:35 +12:00
Kbuild sched: Make migrate_{en,dis}able() inline 2025-09-25 09:57:16 +02:00
Kconfig io_uring: Rename KConfig to Kconfig 2025-02-19 14:53:27 -07:00
MAINTAINERS 27 hotfixes. 12 are cc:stable, 18 are MM. 2025-12-29 11:40:38 -08:00
Makefile Linux 6.19-rc3 2025-12-28 13:24:26 -08:00
README README: restructure with role-based documentation and guidelines 2025-11-29 08:40:33 -07:00

Linux kernel
============

The Linux kernel is the core of any Linux operating system. It manages hardware,
system resources, and provides the fundamental services for all other software.

Quick Start
-----------

* Report a bug: See Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst
* Get the latest kernel: https://kernel.org
* Build the kernel: See Documentation/admin-guide/quickly-build-trimmed-linux.rst
* Join the community: https://lore.kernel.org/

Essential Documentation
-----------------------

All users should be familiar with:

* Building requirements: Documentation/process/changes.rst
* Code of Conduct: Documentation/process/code-of-conduct.rst
* License: See COPYING

Documentation can be built with make htmldocs or viewed online at:
https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/


Who Are You?
============

Find your role below:

* New Kernel Developer - Getting started with kernel development
* Academic Researcher - Studying kernel internals and architecture
* Security Expert - Hardening and vulnerability analysis
* Backport/Maintenance Engineer - Maintaining stable kernels
* System Administrator - Configuring and troubleshooting
* Maintainer - Leading subsystems and reviewing patches
* Hardware Vendor - Writing drivers for new hardware
* Distribution Maintainer - Packaging kernels for distros


For Specific Users
==================

New Kernel Developer
--------------------

Welcome! Start your kernel development journey here:

* Getting Started: Documentation/process/development-process.rst
* Your First Patch: Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
* Coding Style: Documentation/process/coding-style.rst
* Build System: Documentation/kbuild/index.rst
* Development Tools: Documentation/dev-tools/index.rst
* Kernel Hacking Guide: Documentation/kernel-hacking/hacking.rst
* Core APIs: Documentation/core-api/index.rst

Academic Researcher
-------------------

Explore the kernel's architecture and internals:

* Researcher Guidelines: Documentation/process/researcher-guidelines.rst
* Memory Management: Documentation/mm/index.rst
* Scheduler: Documentation/scheduler/index.rst
* Networking Stack: Documentation/networking/index.rst
* Filesystems: Documentation/filesystems/index.rst
* RCU (Read-Copy Update): Documentation/RCU/index.rst
* Locking Primitives: Documentation/locking/index.rst
* Power Management: Documentation/power/index.rst

Security Expert
---------------

Security documentation and hardening guides:

* Security Documentation: Documentation/security/index.rst
* LSM Development: Documentation/security/lsm-development.rst
* Self Protection: Documentation/security/self-protection.rst
* Reporting Vulnerabilities: Documentation/process/security-bugs.rst
* CVE Procedures: Documentation/process/cve.rst
* Embargoed Hardware Issues: Documentation/process/embargoed-hardware-issues.rst
* Security Features: Documentation/userspace-api/seccomp_filter.rst

Backport/Maintenance Engineer
-----------------------------

Maintain and stabilize kernel versions:

* Stable Kernel Rules: Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst
* Backporting Guide: Documentation/process/backporting.rst
* Applying Patches: Documentation/process/applying-patches.rst
* Subsystem Profile: Documentation/maintainer/maintainer-entry-profile.rst
* Git for Maintainers: Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst

System Administrator
--------------------

Configure, tune, and troubleshoot Linux systems:

* Admin Guide: Documentation/admin-guide/index.rst
* Kernel Parameters: Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst
* Sysctl Tuning: Documentation/admin-guide/sysctl/index.rst
* Tracing/Debugging: Documentation/trace/index.rst
* Performance Security: Documentation/admin-guide/perf-security.rst
* Hardware Monitoring: Documentation/hwmon/index.rst

Maintainer
----------

Lead kernel subsystems and manage contributions:

* Maintainer Handbook: Documentation/maintainer/index.rst
* Pull Requests: Documentation/maintainer/pull-requests.rst
* Managing Patches: Documentation/maintainer/modifying-patches.rst
* Rebasing and Merging: Documentation/maintainer/rebasing-and-merging.rst
* Development Process: Documentation/process/maintainer-handbooks.rst
* Maintainer Entry Profile: Documentation/maintainer/maintainer-entry-profile.rst
* Git Configuration: Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst

Hardware Vendor
---------------

Write drivers and support new hardware:

* Driver API Guide: Documentation/driver-api/index.rst
* Driver Model: Documentation/driver-api/driver-model/driver.rst
* Device Drivers: Documentation/driver-api/infrastructure.rst
* Bus Types: Documentation/driver-api/driver-model/bus.rst
* Device Tree Bindings: Documentation/devicetree/bindings/
* Power Management: Documentation/driver-api/pm/index.rst
* DMA API: Documentation/core-api/dma-api.rst

Distribution Maintainer
-----------------------

Package and distribute the kernel:

* Stable Kernel Rules: Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst
* ABI Documentation: Documentation/ABI/README
* Kernel Configuration: Documentation/kbuild/kconfig.rst
* Module Signing: Documentation/admin-guide/module-signing.rst
* Kernel Parameters: Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst
* Tainted Kernels: Documentation/admin-guide/tainted-kernels.rst



Communication and Support
=========================

* Mailing Lists: https://lore.kernel.org/
* IRC: #kernelnewbies on irc.oftc.net
* Bugzilla: https://bugzilla.kernel.org/
* MAINTAINERS file: Lists subsystem maintainers and mailing lists
* Email Clients: Documentation/process/email-clients.rst