A patch you wrote some time ago (aka: "[patch 41/54] ICMP: Fix icmp_errors_use_inbound_ifaddrsysctl")

From: Alexander Hoogerhuis
Date: Tue Apr 19 2011 - 12:53:05 EST


I hope you (or anyone else) can spare half a minute to have a quick look at a patch you wrote a few years ago:

http://lkml.org/lkml/2007/6/8/124

I've been tracking down a case of ICMP Redirects originating from the wrong IPs, and as far I can tell, you patch is the last to touch this code (net/ipv4/icmp.c:507):

if (rt->fl.iif && net->ipv4.sysctl_icmp_errors_use_inbound_ifaddr)
dev = dev_get_by_index_rcu(net, rt->fl.iif);

if (dev)
saddr = inet_select_addr(dev, 0, RT_SCOPE_LINK);
else
saddr = 0;

In a plain world this would work, but I have come across a case that seems to be not handled by this.

I have two machines set up with VRRP to act as routers out of a subnet, and they have IPs x.x.x.13/28 and x.x.x.14/28, with VRRP holding on to x.x.x.1/28.

If a node in x.x.x.0/28 needs to get a ICMP redirect from x.x.x.1/28 (to reach another subnet behind a different gateway in x.x.x.0/28), then the source IP on the ICMP redirect is chosen as the primary IP on the interface that the packet arrived at.

This is as far as I can tell from RFCs and colleagues fine for most things after you're routed one hop or more, but in the case of ICMP redirect it means that the redirect is not adhered to by the client, as it will get the reidrect from x.x.x.13/28, not x.x.x.1/28.

inet_select_addr seems to be explicitly looking for the primary IP in all cases (./net/ipv4/devinet.c:875), and in the case of sending ICMP recdirect when in an VRRP setup, that would not work well. It should try to match the actual inbound IP.

Judging by the comments from your patch I am not sure if the source IP that triggers the ICMP redirect is available at this point any more.

The way I understand it should pick adress is this way:

> if (rt->fl.iif && net->ipv4.sysctl_icmp_errors_use_inbound_ifaddr)
> dev = dev_get_by_index_rcu(net, rt->fl.iif);
>
> if (dev == fl.iif)
> saddr = iph->daddr;
>
> if (dev != fl.iif)
> saddr = inet_select_addr(dev, 0, RT_SCOPE_LINK);
> else
> saddr = 0;

I.e. if we are replying to something that is from a local network segment, then iph->daddr would be a more correct source. My C skill is prehistoric so what I've written likely is far from correct, but the general gist is that there is a special case for replying to something local.

As it stands today (I'm on 2.6.35.11), ICMP redirects when using VRRP are broken, and I'm hoping I may have found out why. :)

mvh,
A
--
Alexander Hoogerhuis | http://no.linkedin.com/in/alexh
Boxed Solutions AS | +47 908 21 485 - alexh@xxxxxxxx
"Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow." -Eric S. Raymond
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