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Christian Brauner 8abc1c8bad
Merge patch series "Add bpf_sock_read_xattr() kfunc to read socket xattrs"
Christian Brauner <brauner@kernel.org> says:

Add bpf_sock_read_xattr() kfunc to read socket xattrs

In c8db08110c ("Merge tag 'vfs-7.1-rc1.xattr' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/vfs/vfs")
we added support for extended attributes for sockets. This comes in two
flavors: sockfs and non-sockfs/filesystem sockets. Filesystem sockets
are actual filesystem objects so reading xattrs must use dedicated fs
helpers such as bpf_get_dentry_xattr() and bpf_get_file_xattr(). Those
are inherently sleeping operations. Sockfs sockets on the other hand
don't need to use sleeping operations as the underlying data structure
is lockless. In addition, retrieval of sockfs extended attributes often
happens from LSM hooks that only provide struct socket and it's
completely nonsensical to grab a reference to a file, then force a
sleeping operation to retrieve the xattr and drop the reference. We know
that the sockfs file cannot go away while the LSM hook runs.

This series adds a bpf_sock_read_xattr() kfunc that, given a struct
socket, reads a user.* extended attribute from the socket's sockfs inode
into a bpf_dynptr. Together with fsetxattr() from userspace this lets a
process label a socket with a user.* xattr and have a BPF LSM program
retrieve that label locklessly. The kfunc mirrors the existing
bpf_cgroup_read_xattr(), including the restriction to the user.*
namespace.

systemd uses user.* xattrs on sockets to implement socket rate limiting
and to tag sockets for other purposes [1] such as implementing a varlink
registry. There is currently no efficient way for a BPF program to read
those labels back. The new helper allows a listening socket marked with
an extended attribute to be read back during bind/connect and then act
on the connect()ing socket. Extended attributes make it possible to
allow an unprivileged user manager such as systemd --user to mark
sockets from userspace and then rediscover them or implement policies.

The kfunc is registered KF_RCU and only for BPF LSM programs. A struct
socket is only guaranteed to live in sockfs when an LSM socket hook hands
it out, which is what keeps SOCK_INODE() valid. Sockets that embed struct
socket outside sockfs (tun, tap) are only reachable from tracing programs
and are excluded by the registration. (Btw, for consistency it would
be nice to force allocation of struct socket from sockfs instead of
simply embedding it in e.g., struct tun_file which makes the SOCKFS_I()
pattern a hazard - at least outside of sockfs functions.)

The read never sleeps and takes no lock. For sockfs the value lives in
the inode's in-memory xattr store and simple_xattr_get() resolves it
with an RCU-protected rhashtable lookup, taking neither the inode lock
nor any xattr lock. The kfunc is therefore usable from both sleepable
and non-sleepable LSM hooks.

* patches from https://patch.msgid.link/20260617-work-bpf-sock-xattr-v1-0-a1276f7c9da3@kernel.org:
  selftests/bpf: Add test for bpf_sock_read_xattr() kfunc
  fs: Add bpf_sock_read_xattr() kfunc to read socket xattrs

Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260617-work-bpf-sock-xattr-v1-0-a1276f7c9da3@kernel.org
Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner (Amutable) <brauner@kernel.org>
2026-06-29 10:31:17 +02:00
arch LoongArch changes for v7.2 2026-06-26 08:42:49 -07:00
block block: handle REQ_OP_ZONE_APPEND in __bio_integrity_action 2026-06-24 06:53:25 -06:00
certs treewide: fix indentation and whitespace in Kconfig files 2026-05-28 21:24:42 -07:00
crypto mm.git review status for mm-hotfixes-stable..mm-nonmm-stable 2026-06-21 13:20:19 -07:00
Documentation RTC for 7.2 2026-06-27 11:00:18 -07:00
drivers NTB updates include an EPF bug fix to prevent an invalid unmap during 2026-06-28 07:46:12 -07:00
fs fs: Add bpf_sock_read_xattr() kfunc to read socket xattrs 2026-06-29 10:31:14 +02:00
include fs: Add bpf_sock_read_xattr() kfunc to read socket xattrs 2026-06-29 10:31:14 +02:00
init mm.git review status for mm-hotfixes-stable..mm-nonmm-stable 2026-06-21 13:20:19 -07:00
io_uring io_uring-7.2-20260625 2026-06-25 09:53:31 -07:00
ipc kernel-7.2-rc1.misc 2026-06-15 03:05:50 +05:30
kernel Power management fixes for 7.2-rc1 2026-06-26 13:14:18 -07:00
lib Misc fixes: 2026-06-23 16:05:54 -07:00
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 block-7.2-20260625 2026-06-25 09:56:47 -07:00
net fs: Add bpf_sock_read_xattr() kfunc to read socket xattrs 2026-06-29 10:31:14 +02:00
rust Rust changes for v7.2 (addendum) 2026-06-24 15:11:08 -07:00
samples Char/Misc/IIO/FPGA/GPIB/etc driver updates for 7.2-rc1 2026-06-22 12:20:21 -07:00
scripts Second round of Kbuild changes for 7.2 2026-06-25 09:06:12 -07:00
security * add Georgia Garcia as co-maintainer of apparmor 2026-06-24 12:33:40 -07:00
sound sound fixes for 7.2-rc1 2026-06-27 12:15:23 -07:00
tools selftests/bpf: Add test for bpf_sock_read_xattr() kfunc 2026-06-29 10:31:14 +02:00
usr kbuild: uapi: also test UAPI headers against C++ compilers 2026-03-25 13:24:42 +01:00
virt s390: 2026-06-25 10:21:13 -07:00
.clang-format clang-format: fix formatting of guard() and scoped_guard() statements 2026-05-28 21:24:41 -07:00
.clippy.toml rust: bump Clippy's MSRV and clean incompatible_msrv allows 2026-04-07 09:51:39 +02:00
.cocciconfig scripts: add Linux .cocciconfig for coccinelle 2016-07-22 12:13:39 +02:00
.editorconfig editorconfig: add rst extension 2026-01-26 19:07:09 -08:00
.get_maintainer.ignore .get_maintainer.ignore: add myself 2026-04-02 16:48:25 +02:00
.gitattributes .gitattributes: set diff driver for Rust source code files 2023-05-31 17:48:25 +02:00
.gitignore SPDX patches for 7.2-rc1 2026-06-22 12:06:22 -07:00
.mailmap Including fixes from netfilter and IPsec. 2026-06-25 12:25:36 -07:00
.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 mm.git review status for mm-hotfixes-stable..mm-nonmm-stable 2026-06-21 13:20:19 -07:00
Kbuild checksyscalls: move instance functionality into generic code 2026-04-05 09:21:32 +02:00
Kconfig io_uring: Rename KConfig to Kconfig 2025-02-19 14:53:27 -07:00
MAINTAINERS Including fixes from netfilter and IPsec. 2026-06-25 12:25:36 -07:00
Makefile Linux 7.2-rc1 2026-06-28 12:01:31 -07:00
README docs: add AI Coding Assistants documentation 2026-01-06 14:55:06 -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
* AI Coding Assistant - LLMs and AI-powered development tools


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

AI Coding Assistant
-------------------

CRITICAL: If you are an LLM or AI-powered coding assistant, you MUST read and
follow the AI coding assistants documentation before contributing to the Linux
kernel:

* Documentation/process/coding-assistants.rst

This documentation contains essential requirements about licensing, attribution,
and the Developer Certificate of Origin that all AI tools must comply with.


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