mm/memfd: add documentation for MFD_NOEXEC_SEAL MFD_EXEC

2024-06-15T17:43:07+00:00

When MFD_NOEXEC_SEAL was introduced, there was one big mistake: it didn't have proper documentation. This led to a lot of confusion, especially about whether or not memfd created with the MFD_NOEXEC_SEAL flag is sealable. Before MFD_NOEXEC_SEAL, memfd had to explicitly set MFD_ALLOW_SEALING to be sealable, so it's a fair question. As one might have noticed, unlike other flags in memfd_create, MFD_NOEXEC_SEAL is actually a combination of multiple flags. The idea is to make it easier to use memfd in the most common way, which is NOEXEC + F_SEAL_EXEC + MFD_ALLOW_SEALING. This works with sysctl vm.noexec to help existing applications move to a more secure way of using memfd. Proposals have been made to put MFD_NOEXEC_SEAL non-sealable, unless MFD_ALLOW_SEALING is set, to be consistent with other flags [1], Those are based on the viewpoint that each flag is an atomic unit, which is a reasonable assumption. However, MFD_NOEXEC_SEAL was designed with the intent of promoting the most secure method of using memfd, therefore a combination of multiple functionalities into one bit. Furthermore, the MFD_NOEXEC_SEAL has been added for more than one year, and multiple applications and distributions have backported and utilized it. Altering ABI now presents a degree of risk and may lead to disruption. MFD_NOEXEC_SEAL is a new flag, and applications must change their code to use it. There is no backward compatibility problem. When sysctl vm.noexec == 1 or 2, applications that don't set MFD_NOEXEC_SEAL or MFD_EXEC will get MFD_NOEXEC_SEAL memfd. And old-application might break, that is by-design, in such a system vm.noexec = 0 shall be used. Also no backward compatibility problem. I propose to include this documentation patch to assist in clarifying the semantics of MFD_NOEXEC_SEAL, thereby preventing any potential future confusion. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to David Rheinsberg and Barnabás Pőcze for initiating the discussion on the topic of sealability. [1] https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20230714114753.170814-1-david@readahead.eu/ [jeffxu@chromium.org: updates per Randy] Link: https://lkml.kernel.org/r/20240611034903.3456796-2-jeffxu@chromium.org [jeffxu@chromium.org: v3] Link: https://lkml.kernel.org/r/20240611231409.3899809-2-jeffxu@chromium.org Link: https://lkml.kernel.org/r/20240607203543.2151433-2-jeffxu@google.com Signed-off-by: Jeff Xu Reviewed-by: Randy Dunlap Cc: Aleksa Sarai Cc: Barnabás Pőcze Cc: Daniel Verkamp Cc: David Rheinsberg Cc: Dmitry Torokhov Cc: Hugh Dickins Cc: Jorge Lucangeli Obes Cc: Kees Cook Cc: Shuah Khan Signed-off-by: Andrew Morton

kernel/linux.git/Documentation/userspace-api/mfd_noexec.rst, branch v6.18.22

mm/memfd: add documentation for MFD_NOEXEC_SEAL MFD_EXEC