Re: [PATCH V2 2/2] mm/highmem: Lift memcpy_[to|from]_page to core

From: Dan Williams
Date: Mon Dec 07 2020 - 18:52:31 EST


On Mon, Dec 7, 2020 at 3:40 PM Matthew Wilcox <willy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> On Mon, Dec 07, 2020 at 03:34:44PM -0800, Dan Williams wrote:
> > On Mon, Dec 7, 2020 at 3:27 PM Matthew Wilcox <willy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > >
> > > On Mon, Dec 07, 2020 at 02:57:03PM -0800, ira.weiny@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
> > > > +static inline void memcpy_page(struct page *dst_page, size_t dst_off,
> > > > + struct page *src_page, size_t src_off,
> > > > + size_t len)
> > > > +{
> > > > + char *dst = kmap_local_page(dst_page);
> > > > + char *src = kmap_local_page(src_page);
> > >
> > > I appreciate you've only moved these, but please add:
> > >
> > > BUG_ON(dst_off + len > PAGE_SIZE || src_off + len > PAGE_SIZE);
> >
> > I imagine it's not outside the realm of possibility that some driver
> > on CONFIG_HIGHMEM=n is violating this assumption and getting away with
> > it because kmap_atomic() of contiguous pages "just works (TM)".
> > Shouldn't this WARN rather than BUG so that the user can report the
> > buggy driver and not have a dead system?
>
> As opposed to (on a HIGHMEM=y system) silently corrupting data that
> is on the next page of memory?

Wouldn't it fault in HIGHMEM=y case? I guess not necessarily...

> I suppose ideally ...
>
> if (WARN_ON(dst_off + len > PAGE_SIZE))
> len = PAGE_SIZE - dst_off;
> if (WARN_ON(src_off + len > PAGE_SIZE))
> len = PAGE_SIZE - src_off;
>
> and then we just truncate the data of the offending caller instead of
> corrupting innocent data that happens to be adjacent. Although that's
> not ideal either ... I dunno, what's the least bad poison to drink here?

Right, if the driver was relying on "corruption" for correct operation.

If corruption actual were happening in practice wouldn't there have
been screams by now? Again, not necessarily...

At least with just plain WARN the kernel will start screaming on the
user's behalf, and if it worked before it will keep working.