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Dorjoy Chowdhury 8b82cacad9
openat2: new OPENAT2_REGULAR flag support
This flag indicates the path should be opened if it's a regular file.
This is useful to write secure programs that want to avoid being
tricked into opening device nodes with special semantics while thinking
they operate on regular files. This is a requested feature from the
uapi-group[1].

The previously introduced EFTYPE error code is returned when the path
doesn't refer to a regular file. For example, if openat2 is called on
path /dev/null with OPENAT2_REGULAR in the flag param, it will return
-EFTYPE.

When used in combination with O_CREAT, either the regular file is
created, or if the path already exists, it is opened if it's a regular
file. Otherwise, -EFTYPE is returned.

When OPENAT2_REGULAR is combined with O_DIRECTORY, -EINVAL is returned
as it doesn't make sense to open a path that is both a directory and a
regular file.

The UAPI bit lives in the upper 32 bits of open_how::flags
(((__u64)1 << 32)) so that open(2) and openat(2) -- whose @flags
argument is a C int -- cannot physically express it. This is a
structural guarantee, not a runtime mask: the bit is unrepresentable in
32 bits.

Because the rest of the VFS open path narrows to 32 bits in several
places (op->open_flag, f->f_flags, the unsigned open_flag argument of
i_op->atomic_open()), build_open_flags() translates OPENAT2_REGULAR
into a kernel-internal lower-32-bit carrier __O_REGULAR (bit 4, unused
as an O_* on every architecture) before the assignment to op->open_flag.
__O_REGULAR then rides through the existing channels exactly like
__FMODE_EXEC. do_dentry_open() strips it so it cannot leak back to
userspace via fcntl(F_GETFL).

Four BUILD_BUG_ON_MSG() invariants in build_open_flags() prevent any
future bit collision or accidental low-32 redefinition:

  - VALID_OPEN_FLAGS fits in 32 bits.
  - OPENAT2_REGULAR lives in the upper 32 bits.
  - OPENAT2_REGULAR does not alias any open()/openat() flag.
  - __O_REGULAR does not alias any user-visible flag.

[1]: https://uapi-group.org/kernel-features/#ability-to-only-open-regular-files

Christian Brauner <brauner@kernel.org> says:

Move OPENAT2_REGULAR to the upper 32 bits of open_how::flags with a
kernel-internal __O_REGULAR carrier so that open(2)/openat(2) cannot
encode the flag; add BUILD_BUG_ON_MSG() invariants and register
__O_REGULAR in the fcntl_init() allocation-uniqueness BUILD_BUG_ON()
(bit count 21 -> 22).

Signed-off-by: Dorjoy Chowdhury <dorjoychy111@gmail.com>
Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260328172314.45807-2-dorjoychy111@gmail.com
Reviewed-by: Jeff Layton <jlayton@kernel.org>
Reviewed-by: Aleksa Sarai <aleksa@amutable.com>
Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner (Amutable) <brauner@kernel.org>
2026-05-21 15:33:47 +02:00
arch openat2: introduce EFTYPE error code 2026-05-21 10:53:41 +02:00
block block: only restrict bio allocation gfp mask asked to block 2026-04-21 11:42:12 -06:00
certs Clang build fixes for 7.1 2026-04-24 09:29:51 -07:00
crypto This push contains the following changes: 2026-04-21 08:06:43 -07:00
Documentation RTC for 7.1 2026-04-25 16:39:03 -07:00
drivers One more fix for the merge window to avoid a boot hang on 2026-04-26 14:03:20 -07:00
fs openat2: new OPENAT2_REGULAR flag support 2026-05-21 15:33:47 +02:00
include openat2: new OPENAT2_REGULAR flag support 2026-05-21 15:33:47 +02:00
init memblock: updates for 7.0-rc1 2026-04-18 11:29:14 -07:00
io_uring io_uring: take page references for NOMMU pbuf_ring mmaps 2026-04-21 20:14:39 -06:00
ipc Convert 'alloc_obj' family to use the new default GFP_KERNEL argument 2026-02-21 17:09:51 -08:00
kernel ring-buffer fix for 7.1: 2026-04-24 15:17:23 -07:00
lib RISC-V updates for v7.1 2026-04-24 10:00:37 -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 slab fix for 7.1 2026-04-24 09:39:03 -07:00
net NFS client updates for Linux 7.1 2026-04-24 14:20:03 -07:00
rust Char/Misc/IIO/and others driver updates for 7.1-rc1 2026-04-24 13:23:50 -07:00
samples soc: drivers for 7.1 2026-04-16 20:34:34 -07:00
scripts First round of Kbuild fixes for 7.1 2026-04-25 17:04:15 -07:00
security + Cleanups 2026-04-24 09:22:21 -07:00
sound sound fixes for 7.1-rc1 2026-04-24 11:49:20 -07:00
tools openat2: introduce EFTYPE error code 2026-05-21 10:53:41 +02:00
usr kbuild: uapi: also test UAPI headers against C++ compilers 2026-03-25 13:24:42 +01:00
virt Arm: 2026-04-17 07:18:03 -07:00
.clang-format Devicetree updates for v7.0: 2026-02-11 18:27:08 -08:00
.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 kbuild: rust: provide an option to inline C helpers into Rust 2026-03-30 02:03:52 +02:00
.mailmap Char/Misc/IIO/and others driver updates for 7.1-rc1 2026-04-24 13:23:50 -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 Delete some obsolete networking code 2026-04-24 09:41:58 -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 Char/Misc/IIO/and others driver updates for 7.1-rc1 2026-04-24 13:23:50 -07:00
Makefile Linux 7.1-rc1 2026-04-26 14:19:00 -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