Re: [PATCH v8 1/4] x86/KASLR: Clarify identity map interface

[Ingo Molnar]

* Kees Cook <keescook@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> On Tue, May 10, 2016 at 11:24 PM, Ingo Molnar <mingo@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> > * Kees Cook <keescook@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> >> +/*
> >> + * Mapping information structure passed to kernel_ident_mapping_init().
> >> + * Due to relocation, pointers must be assigned at run time not build time.
> >> + */
> >> +static struct x86_mapping_info mapping_info = {
> >> +     .pmd_flag       = __PAGE_KERNEL_LARGE_EXEC,
> >> +};
> >
> >> +void initialize_identity_maps(void)
> >>  {
> >> +     /* Init mapping_info with run-time function/buffer pointers. */
> >> +     mapping_info.alloc_pgt_page = alloc_pgt_page;
> >> +     mapping_info.context = &pgt_data;
> >
> > Could you please outline the precise failure mode? What gets executed when, which
> > pointer gets relocated and which not, and exactly when does it pose a problem,
> > etc.
> 
> It's the issue described at the top of misc.c:
> 
> /*
>  * WARNING!!
>  * This code is compiled with -fPIC and it is relocated dynamically at
>  * run time, but no relocation processing is performed. This means that
>  * it is not safe to place pointers in static structures.
>  */

Btw., is there any way to detect such invalid pointers during build-time somehow? 
This is not the first such bug and I suspect it won't be the last one either.

Thanks,

	Ingo