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Justin Suess 94c8d1c21b bpf: Reject bpf_obj_drop() from tracing progs
bpf_obj_drop() runs bpf_obj_free_fields() synchronously for
program-allocated objects. When such an object contains NMI unsafe
fields, tracing programs that can run from arbitrary instrumented
context can reach that destruction from unsafe contexts, including NMI.

NMI is likely one instance of this problem, and other instances would
include possible unsafe reentrancy. Deferring bpf_obj_drop() is not
appealing either: it would add delayed-free machinery to a release
operation that otherwise has straightforward synchronous ownership
semantics.

Reject bpf_obj_drop() and bpf_percpu_obj_drop() from tracing programs
that may run from unsafe contexts unless every field in the object's BTF
record is explicitly NMI safe. Do not reject sleepable
BPF_PROG_TYPE_TRACING programs, since they are not the arbitrary/NMI
contexts that motivate the restriction.

Note that while bpf_rb_root and bpf_list_head would be NMI safe on their
own to free, the objects recursively held by them may not be; be
conservative and just mark them as not NMI safe for now.

Use a whitelist for the NMI-safe field set instead of listing only known
NMI unsafe fields. Locks, async fields, unreferenced kptrs, and
refcounts are known to be NMI safe because their destruction is either a
no-op, simple state reset, or async cancellation. Referenced kptrs,
percpu referenced kptrs, uptrs, graph roots, graph nodes, and any future
field type are rejected until audited for arbitrary tracing and NMI
contexts. This is less susceptible to future changes in fields that were
previously safe by exclusion, and to new fields being added without
updating this check.

Convert the existing recursive local-object drop success case to a
syscall program in the same commit, since this verifier change makes the
old tracing program form invalid. The test still exercises
bpf_obj_drop() releasing a referenced task kptr from a safe program
type.

Fixes: ac9f06050a ("bpf: Introduce bpf_obj_drop")
Signed-off-by: Justin Suess <utilityemal77@gmail.com>
Co-developed-by: Kumar Kartikeya Dwivedi <memxor@gmail.com>
Signed-off-by: Kumar Kartikeya Dwivedi <memxor@gmail.com>
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20260609202548.3571690-2-memxor@gmail.com
Signed-off-by: Alexei Starovoitov <ast@kernel.org>
2026-06-09 21:23:11 -07:00
arch arm64: mm: Complete the PTE store in ptep_try_set() 2026-06-08 13:30:01 +02:00
block cgroup: Fixes for v7.1-rc4 2026-05-22 16:28:47 -07:00
certs Clang build fixes for 7.1 2026-04-24 09:29:51 -07:00
crypto crypto/krb5, rxrpc: Fix lack of pre-decrypt/pre-verify length checks 2026-05-20 16:36:45 -07:00
Documentation Documentation/bpf: Refresh map_lru_hash_update.dot for rqspinlock 2026-06-07 18:46:13 -07:00
drivers Merge git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/bpf/bpf 7.1-rc5 2026-05-25 06:33:30 -07:00
fs Merge git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/bpf/bpf 7.1-rc5 2026-05-25 06:33:30 -07:00
include bpf: Reject bpf_obj_drop() from tracing progs 2026-06-09 21:23:11 -07:00
init memblock: updates for 7.0-rc1 2026-04-18 11:29:14 -07:00
io_uring io_uring-7.1-20260522 2026-05-22 11:53:28 -07:00
ipc Convert 'alloc_obj' family to use the new default GFP_KERNEL argument 2026-02-21 17:09:51 -08:00
kernel bpf: Reject bpf_obj_drop() from tracing progs 2026-06-09 21:23:11 -07:00
lib rhashtable: Fix rhashtable_next_key() build warnings 2026-06-07 12:36:13 -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 cgroup: Fixes for v7.1-rc4 2026-05-22 16:28:47 -07:00
net bpf: Add support for tracing_multi link session 2026-06-07 10:03:01 -07:00
rust Rust fixes for v7.1 2026-05-09 11:24:02 -07:00
samples soc: drivers for 7.1 2026-04-16 20:34:34 -07:00
scripts Second round of Kbuild fixes for 7.1 2026-05-19 09:43:24 -07:00
security lsm/stable-7.1 PR 20260519 2026-05-19 15:31:35 -05:00
sound ASoC: Fixes for v7.1 2026-05-22 08:25:18 +02:00
tools bpf: Reject bpf_obj_drop() from tracing progs 2026-06-09 21:23:11 -07:00
usr kbuild: uapi: also test UAPI headers against C++ compilers 2026-03-25 13:24:42 +01:00
virt KVM: Reject wrapped offset in kvm_reset_dirty_gfn() 2026-05-12 22:16:16 +02:00
.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
.editorconfig editorconfig: add rst extension 2026-01-26 19:07:09 -08:00
.get_maintainer.ignore .get_maintainer.ignore: add Askar 2026-04-15 02:15:02 -07:00
.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 Including fixes from Bluetooth, wireless and netfilter. 2026-05-21 14:39:12 -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 MAINTAINERS: BPF: Add self as reviewer and run parse_maintainers.pl 2026-06-05 08:01:12 -07:00
Makefile Linux 7.1-rc5 2026-05-24 13:48:06 -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